Asthma is the most common chronic pediatric disorder affecting children in the United States, and it disproportionately affects children from low-income families and from minority groups. This study sought to measure the prevalence of asthma in Miami-Dade County schoolchildren and link them to care. To this end, data from four sources were analyzed: the MDC YRBSS 2009, a survey of children and their parents, and focus groups of parents of asthmatic children.
While the CDC is unable to provide statistics on asthma hospitalizations for children younger than six years old, it does track how many children were hospitalized daily with Covid in the United States during its peak in January and August this year. In Florida, more than two hundred and sixty children per day were hospitalized with Covid.
The researchers found that a subgroup of children with asthma hospitalizations had a higher risk of re-hospitalization in the same year. In addition, more than one-third of the patients were African-American and had public insurance. The patients’ median age was 5.2 years. The study participants were evenly distributed among four strata, including low-income and middle-income families, and were evenly distributed across racial, ethnic, and income levels.
The findings of the study are a wake-up call for parents of children with asthma to seek medical care. Parents should ask their child’s school about asthma policies and encourage them to fix any shortcomings they may find. Parents should also make sure that their child’s medication form is properly filled out. Additionally, parents should visit MD Now for urgent care services if their child develops an asthma attack.
The findings of a study led by the University of South Florida could point to a new way to treat asthma and reduce the racial gap. The trial involved 1,200 asthma patients over a year. The participants were added to an inhaled corticosteroid as part of their asthma treatment regimen.
COVID-19 infections among children have risen sharply in Florida. Emergency rooms in the state are seeing more symptomatic cases than during previous COVID-19 surges. The CDC is no longer reporting the ages of the patients. However, it is still a heartbreaking experience to see a child with COVID-19 who is not yet fully recovered.