Table 3.
Acute Asthma Characteristics and Emergency Department Management of Asthma Patients Treated in the Emergency Department, According to Chronic Medication.
| No ICS No Salmeterol (n = 1221) | No ICS Salmeterol Use (n = 48) | ICS Use No Salmeterol (n = 787) | ICS Use Salmeterol Use (n = 180) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration of symptoms <24 hours (%) | 53 | 52 | 52 | 47 | 0.52 |
| No. SABA puffs in 6 hours before ED arrival, median (IQR) | 2 (0 – 8) | 4 (2 – 9) | 6 (2 – 16) | 10 (4 – 24) | <0.001 |
| Initial Peak Flow (%) | 0.16* | ||||
| ≥ 70 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | |
| ≥ 50 – 69 | 18 | 17 | 24 | 13 | |
| < 50 | 39 | 38 | 39 | 40 | |
| Final Peak Flow (%) | 0.54* | ||||
| ≥ 70 | 43 | 42 | 44 | 39 | |
| ≥ 50 – 69 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 22 | |
| < 50 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 17 | |
| Given systemic steroids (%) | 69 | 60 | 76 | 81 | <0.001 |
| No. inhaled SABA treatments over entire ED stay, median (IQR) | 3 (2 – 4) | 3 (2 – 4) | 3 (2 – 4) | 3 (2 – 5) | <0.001 |
| ED length of stay (min), median (IQR) | 180 (125 – 259) | 206 (161 – 320) | 194 (135 – 287) | 210 (153 – 301) | <0.001 |
| ED disposition (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Sent home | 83 | 71 | 73 | 67 | |
| Observation | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | |
| Admit regular | 12 | 21 | 21 | 28 | |
| Admit ICU | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
SABA denotes short-acting β2-agonist; ICS, inhaled corticosteroids; IQR, interquartile range; ED, emergency department.
*
Mean values within a cell are expressed in L/min. P-values were calculated after exclusion of missing and unknown values.