Asthma is considered to be a prevalent disease that often goes undetected in the primary-care setting. Particularly among children, it is observed that the asthma occurrence is rising globally. Among Saudi children, the prevalence differs from one area to another in the same country. In Alhofuf, it was reported the highest prevalence (33.7%), while the lowest was reported in Abha (9%). The asthmatic patients admitted to emergency departments (ED) failed to manage their disease, suffering critical breathing difficulties, and are repeatedly admitted to the hospital. However, one visit is not satisfactory; there are more severe cases that frequently visit the ED. A web-based literature search using the advanced features of various databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, Directory of Open Access Journals, and Cochrane electronic databases was carried out. Our study recognized many factors that increase the risk of repeated ED visits for the crisis-oriented care of asthma.
Key words: Risk factors, hospital admissions, emergency department visits, pediatric, asthma.
|
