Objectives: To compare the time to asthma-related readmissions between children with a previous ICU hospitalization for asthma and those with a non-ICU hospitalization and to explore predictors of time to readmission in children admitted to the ICU.
Design: Retrospective cohort study using a pan-Canadian administrative inpatient database from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2014.
Setting: All adult and pediatric Canadian hospitals.
Subjects: Children 2-17 years old with a hospitalization for asthma.
Interventions: None.
Measurements and main results: A total of 26,168 children were hospitalized 33,304 times during the study period. The time to readmission was shorter in the ICU group compared with the non-ICU group (median time to readmission 27 mo in ICU vs 35 mo in non-ICU group). Preschool-aged children (hazard ratio, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.02-2.14) and increased length of stay (hazard ratio, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.17-2.27) were associated with a shorter time to readmission.
Conclusions: Children previously admitted to the ICU for asthma had a shorter time to asthma-related readmission, compared with children who did not require intensive care, underlining the importance of targeted long-term postdischarge follow-up of these children. Children of preschool age and who have a lengthier hospital stay are particularly at risk for future morbidity.