Navigating Change: A Comparative Study on Pediatric Asthma Care Before and After COVID-19

Higher pediatric asthma admission rates are typically seen during flu season as viral illnesses precipitate most exacerbations. Previous studies show decreased asthma admissions during the pandemic; however, children were more acutely ill upon presentation. This study investigates trends 1 year after COVID-19 began, comparing asthma admissions at a Bronx children's hospital from October through May in 3 cohorts: 2019 to 2020 (pre-pandemic), 2020 to 2021 (COVID-19), and 2021 to 2022 (post-COVID-19). Length of stay (LOS) was used to approximate asthma severity. There were 320 pre-pandemic admissions compared to 112 and 318 in the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 groups. The pre-pandemic mean LOS was 2.4 days vs 2.0 days post-COVID-19 (P = .0004). The COVID-19 cohort was more likely to receive magnesium sulfate and intensive care (P = .02) (P = .0007). Factors impacting LOS included hospitalization year, asthma severity, and intensive care use. While admissions have returned to pre-pandemic levels, further insight into LOS decrease could help reduce health care costs for asthma patients.