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. 1986 Nov;76(11):1308–1311. doi: 10.2105/ajph.76.11.1308

Trends in the hospitalization for acute childhood asthma, 1970-84.

N Halfon, P W Newacheck
PMCID: PMC1646725  PMID: 3766826

Abstract

Data from the 1970 through 1984 National Hospital Discharge Surveys indicate that the rate of hospitalization for children under 15 years old with asthma has increased at least 145 per cent while the average length of stay for children with asthma decreased by 26 per cent from 5 days in 1970 to 3.6 days in 1984. Over an analogous period (1970 to 1980), data from the National Health Interview Survey indicate that the prevalence of childhood asthma has increased by approximately 28 per cent for children 6 to 16 years of age. Several potential explanations for the hospital trend are discussed, including changes in the disease classification and information system, criteria for admission, organizational factors, changes in therapy, and changes in morbidity.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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