EMS Administration of Systemic Corticosteroids to Pediatric Asthma Patients: An Analysis by Severity and Transport Interval

Abstract

Introduction

Pediatric asthma exacerbations are a common cause of emergency medical services (EMS) encounters. Bronchodilators and systemic corticosteroids are mainstays of asthma exacerbation therapy, yet data on the efficacy of EMS administration of systemic corticosteroids are mixed. This study’s objective was to assess the association between EMS administration of systemic corticosteroids to pediatric asthma patients on hospital admission rates based on asthma exacerbation severity and EMS transport intervals.

Methods

This is a sub-analysis of the Early Administration of Steroids in the Ambulance Setting: An Observational Design Trial (EASI AS ODT). EASI AS ODT is a non-randomized, stepped wedge, observational study examining outcomes one year before and one year after seven EMS agencies incorporated an oral systemic corticosteroid option into their protocols for the treatment of pediatric asthma exacerbations. We included EMS encounters for patients ages 2–18 years confirmed by manual chart review to have asthma exacerbations. We compared hospital admission rates across asthma exacerbation severities and EMS transport intervals using univariate analyses. We geocoded patients and created maps to visualize the general trends of patient characteristics.

Results

A total of 841 pediatric asthma patients met inclusion criteria. While most patients were administered inhaled bronchodilators by EMS (82.3%), only 21% received systemic corticosteroids, and only 19% received both inhaled bronchodilators and systemic corticosteroids. Overall, there was no significant difference in hospitalization rates between patients who did and did not receive systemic corticosteroids from EMS (33% vs. 32%, p = 0.78). However, although not statistically significant, for patients who received systemic corticosteroids from EMS, there was an 11% decrease in hospitalizations for mild exacerbation patients and a 16% decrease in hospitalizations for patients with EMS transport intervals greater than 40 min.

Conclusion

In this study, systemic corticosteroids were not associated with a decrease in hospitalizations of pediatric patients with asthma overall. However, while limited by small sample size and lack of statistical significance, our results suggest there may be a benefit in certain subgroups, particularly patients with mild exacerbations and those with transport intervals longer than 40 min. Given the heterogeneity of EMS agencies, EMS agencies should consider local operational and pediatric patient characteristics when developing standard operating protocols for pediatric asthma.

Author Contributions

LR: Study design and conceptualization, data acquisition, and interpretation, manuscript drafting and critical editing of manuscript; SP: Study design and conceptualization, data analysis and interpretation, critical editing of manuscript; EF: Study design and conceptualization, data analysis and interpretation, critical editing of manuscript; AB: Data acquisition and analysis, critical editing of manuscript; SB: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; PH: Study design and conceptualization, data interpretation, critical editing of manuscript; MS: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; KK: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; DA: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; DO: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; OS: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; BNA: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; BA: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; NS: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; EM: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; MF: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; TT: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; MK: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; KL: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; GR: Data acquisition, critical editing of manuscript; JF: Study design and conceptualization, acquisition of funding, data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation, secondary drafting of manuscript and revisions, critical editing of manuscript.

Presentations

Portions of this study were presented as an abstract at the National Association of EMS Physicians 2023 annual conference.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a University of Florida Seed Grant. Dr. Fishe’s activity on this study was supported in part by a career development award from NIH/NHLBI [K23HL149991]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.