INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES With the aim of making informed decisions on resource allocation, there is a critical need for studies that provide accurate information on hospital costs for treating pediatric asthma exacerbations, mainly in middle-income countries (MICs). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the direct medical costs associated with pediatric asthma exacerbations requiring hospital attendance in Bogota, Colombia. PATIENTS AND METHODS We reviewed the available electronic medical records (EMRs) for all pediatric patients who were admitted to the Fundacion Hospital de La Misericordia with a discharge principal diagnosis pediatric asthma exacerbation over a 24-month period from January 2016 to December 2017. Direct medical costs of pediatric asthma exacerbations were retrospectively collected by dividing the patients into four groups: those admitted to the emergency department (ED) only; those admitted to the pediatric ward (PW); those admitted to the pediatric intermediate care unit (PIMC); and those admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). RESULTS A total of 252 patients with a median (IQR) age of 5.0 (3.0-7.0) years were analyzed, of whom 142 (56.3%) were males. Overall, the median (IQR) cost of patients treated in the ED, PW, PIMC, and PICU was US$38.8 (21.1-64.1) vs. US$260.5 (113.7-567.4) vs. 1212.4 (717.6-1609.6) vs. 2501.8 (1771.6-3405.0), respectively: this difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The present study helps to further our understanding of the economic burden of pediatric asthma exacerbations requiring hospital attendance among pediatric patients in a MIC.

中文翻译：

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在中等收入国家，需要住院治疗的小儿哮喘加重的直接医疗费用。

引言和目标为了在资源分配方面做出明智的决定，迫切需要进行研究，以提供有关主要用于中等收入国家（MIC）的小儿哮喘加重的医院费用的准确信息。本研究的目的是评估哥伦比亚波哥大需要住院治疗的小儿哮喘加重的直接医疗费用。患者和方法我们回顾了从2016年1月至2017年12月的24个月内入院的La Misericordia Fundacion医院出院主要诊断为小儿哮喘加重的所有儿科患者的可用电子病历（EMR）。通过将患者分为四组来回顾性收集小儿哮喘急性发作的直接医疗费用：仅接受急诊科治疗的患者；那些被送进儿科病房的人；入院的儿科中级监护室（PIMC）的患者；以及进入小儿重症监护室（PICU）的患者。结果共分析了252例中位（IQR）年龄为5.0（3.0-7.0）岁的患者，其中142例（56.3％）是男性。总体而言，在ED，PW，PICC和PICU中接受治疗的患者的中位（IQR）费用分别为38.8美元（21.1-64.1），260.5美元（113.7-567.4），1212.4（717.6-1609.6）和2501.8（分别为1771.6-3405.0）：该差异具有统计学意义（p <0.001）。