Seasonal Patterns of Asthma-Related ED Visits and Admissions in Children and Adolescents Who Visited Emergency Rooms of Korea in 2007-2012

Background :  Seasonal variation of asthma-related hospitalizations has long been recognized, however, little is known about asthma-related ICU admissions. To identify seasonal trend of asthma-related hospitalizations and ICU admissions may allow preventive strategies to be developed.

Methods: We analyzed the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) records of 117 emergency room in Korea of all patients aged between 3 and 18 years with asthma during six years (from 2007 to 2012). Data was tabulated and graphed to show seasonal trends in the monthly number of ED visits, general ward(GW), and ICU admissions for asthma.

Results : A total of 41,128 subject were found and the male to female ratio was 1:0.5. GW admissions as a percent of ED visits were 42.6% (n=17,524), and ICU admissions, 0.8% (n=335). Monthly number of ED visits and GW admissions for asthma showed the seasonal variability with high peaks in fall (September to November) and low rates in summer (June to August). ICU admissions, however, showed different peaks at each year. Despite this finding, ICU admissions were at a minimum in fall as a percent of general ward admissions.

Conclusions : There were important differences in the seasonal pattern of ED visits, general ward(GW), and ICU admissions for asthma. The combined analysis of these three data sets provides a new perspective on the epidemiology of asthma.