Blood eosinophil count and response to oral corticosteroids in children admitted with acute preschool wheeze

Even though oral corticosteroid usage is ineffective in treating acute wheeze attacks, children in hospitals are often treated with oral corticosteroids.

Study

A group of researchers conducted a study to assess if children with peripheral eosinophilia admitted with acute wheeze show a differential response to treatment with oral corticosteroids as indicated by length of stay.

Length of stay was calculated as the time between treatment initiation and decision to discharge.

Study findings

• A total of 82 children had an eosinophil count recorded and received oral corticosteroid treatment.
• 26.8% (22/82) belonged to the eosinophil-high group and 73.1% (60/82) to the eosinophil-low group.
• There was no significant difference in the median length of stay between two groups (median stay 41.5 hours vs. 46.75 hours).

There was no significant difference in the length of stay of preschool children admitted with acute wheeze and treated with oral corticosteroids as determined by blood eosinophil count. Identifying larger cohorts, and comparisons of length of stay including children not treated with oral corticosteroids in both eosinophil high and eosinophil low groups may be helpful.