Hospitalization trends for paediatric asthma in eastern Finland: a 10-yr survey.

The prevalence of childhood asthma has increased during the past 20 yrs in eastern Finland. The use of regular medication for asthma has, consequently, also risen at the same time. The aim of the present study was to assess how these factors have influenced hospitalization for asthma in children. Data concerning the annual number of children aged <16 yrs treated for asthma, their number of hospital periods, and length of hospitalization were collected using patient-specific medical records for the years 1988-1997. Admissions for asthma more than doubled (from 1.2 in 1,000 to 2.7 in 1,000) (p<0.001), whereas re-admissions decreased from 28.1% to 8.7% (p<0.001) during the study period. The greatest increase was seen among children aged <2 yrs, whereas during recent years the admission rate among children aged >2 yrs has declined by one-third. Despite the increased prevalence of asthma, the decline in admissions seen in all but the youngest children may, at least partly, be attributed to the decrease in re-admissions, resulting from the early onset and increased use of inhaled steroids.