An innovative childhood asthma score predicts the need for bronchodilator Nebulization in children with acute asthma independent of auscultative findings

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We sought to compare the accuracy of a newly developed childhood asthma score (CAS) with routine clinical assessment of respiratory status in children with acute asthma in predicting requirements for bronchodilator nebulization. METHODS: In this prospective observational study in children 2–18 y old with acute asthma, we evaluated the association between the CAS and routine clinical assessment as well as inter-rater agreement. RESULTS: The need for bronchodilator nebulization was assessed during 134 episodes of acute asthma in 47 children. Overall, bronchodilators were administered after routine clinical assessment in 74 episodes (55.2%). The median CAS was 2.5 (interquartile range of 2.0 –3.0) for subjects who did not receive nebulization and 6.0 (interquartile range of 4.0 –7.0) for subjects who did receive nebulization (P