Acuity of asthma exacerbations in Alberta, Canada is increasing: a population-based study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Asthma is a common respiratory illness affecting 2.8 million Canadians, including 9.7% of Albertans. Prior studies showed a substantial decrease in ED visits for asthma in the decade preceding 2010, followed by a stabilization. This was attributed to improvements in the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments for asthma during that period followed by a balance between epidemiologic drivers and protective factors in the population.

Methods

We assessed whether this trend continued in Alberta from 2010 to 2022 using population level data for the volume of daily ED visits, acuity of asthma exacerbations in the ED, and hospitalization rate.

Results

The mean number of ED visits decreased from 4.5 to 2.2 per million persons per day, but the acuity of exacer

SUBMITTER: Adatia A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10863092 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature