Background. Hospitalization rates for childhood asthma are three times
as high in Boston, Massachusetts, as in Rochester, New York; New Have
n, Connecticut, rates are intermediate. We undertook this study to det
ermine how care for children admitted for asthma varies across these c
ommunities. Methods. We performed a community-wide retrospective chart
review. We reviewed a random sample of all asthma hospitalizations, f
rom 1988 to 1990, of children 2 to 12 years old living in these commun
ities (n = 614). Abstracted data included demographics, illness severi
ty, and treatment before admission. Results. Compared with Rochester c
hildren, Boston children were less likely to have received maintenance
preventive therapy (inhaled corticosteroids or cromolyn [odds ratio (
OR), 0.4 (0.2, 0.9)]), acute ''rescue'' therapy (oral corticosteroids
[OR, 0.2 (0.1, 0.4)]), or inhaled beta-agonist therapy [OR, 0.5 (0.3,
1.0)]. A larger proportion of admitted asthmatic patients in Boston (3
4%) were in the least severely ill group-oxygen saturation 95% or abov
e-compared with patients in Rochester (20%). Conclusions. The quality
of ambulatory care, including choice of preventive therapies and thres
holds for admission, likely plays a key role in determining community
hospitalization rates for chronic conditions such as childhood asthma.