COVID-19 linked to drop in pediatric asthma emergency department utilization

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COVID-19 linked to drop in pediatric asthma emergency department utilization
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Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Jun 15 2020
The number of patients visiting the emergency department (ED) for asthma treatment dropped by 76% in the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The proportion of ED visits that led to a patient being hospitalized also decreased over this period, suggesting the decrease in overall visits was not solely due to patients avoiding the hospital due to the pandemic or delays in care for less serious asthma events.

"We were surprised by the magnitude and extent of the reduced utilization of emergency services for asthma during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Chén C. Kenyon, MD, MSHP, a pediatrician in CHOP's Division of General Pediatrics and first author of the study, which was published in JACI in Practice. "The trend was particularly striking given that the emergence of COVID-19 in the Northeastern United States occurred during the spring, when respiratory viruses and high-pollen counts can converge and exacerbate asthma symptoms."
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