Association of center volume with outcomes in critically ill children with acute asthma

Background: Little is known about the relation between center volume and outcomes in children requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission for acute asthma. Objective: To evaluate the association of center volume with the odds of receiving positive pressure ventilation and length of ICU stay. Methods: Patients 2 to 18 years of age with the primary diagnosis of asthma were included (2009e2012). Center volume was defined as the average number of mechanical ventilator cases per year for any diagnoses during the study period. In multivariable analysis, the odds of receiving positive pressure ventilation (invasive and noninvasive ventilation) and ICU length of stay were evaluated as a function of center volume. Results: Fifteen thousand eighty-three patients from 103 pediatric ICUs with the primary diagnosis of acute asthma met the inclusion criteria. Seven hundred fifty-two patients (5%) received conventional mechanical ventilation and 964 patients (6%) received noninvasive ventilation. In multivariable analysis, center volume was not associated with the odds of receiving any form of positive pressure ventilation in children with acute asthma, with the exception of high-to medium-volume centers. However, ICU length of stay varied with center volume and was noted to be longer in low-volume centers compared with medium-and high-volume centers. Conclusion: In children with acute asthma, this study establishes a relation between center volume and ICU length of stay. However, this study fails to show any significant relation between center volume and the odds of receiving positive pressure ventilation; further analyses are needed to evaluate this relation in more detail. (C) 2014 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.