Abstract
Background: Bronchial asthma is the most prevalent chronic disease in children. Every year an important number of asthmatic children is hospitalized for asthma crisis. The magnitude of this problem in Chile is unknown.
Aim: To evaluate the asthma hospitalization rate in 5 -15 year-old children, and evaluate their evolution.
Patients and Method: We calculate the asthma hospitalization rate in children based on data from the National Hospitalization Discharge Registry from the Statistics and Health Information Department of the Ministry of Health (DEIS) and the National Institute of Statistics (INE). We evaluate the evolution of these rates from 2001 to 2014.
Results: We observed a significant increase in the asthma hospitalization rates in children from 3,8 for 10.000 inhabitants in 2001 to 7,8 for 10.000 inhabitants in 2014. The average age was 8,5 years ± 2,7. Male gender was predominant (57,58%) with a mean length of stay of 3 days (range 1-12).
Conclusions: The actual asthma hospitalization rate in Chile is 7,8 for 10.000 inhabitants for children 5 to 15 years old, with a double increase in this rate during the 14-year period analyzed.
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