What role do hospitals play in treating asthma?

People with asthma require admission to hospital when flare-ups or 'attacks' are life-threatening or when they cannot be managed at home or by a GP.

There was a substantial reduction in the rate of hospitalisations for asthma in both adults (32%) and children (47%) during the decade between 1993–94 and 2002–03. However, rates have remained stable since that time.

Boys aged 0–14 were more likely to be admitted to hospital for asthma than girls but, after the age of 15, females had a higher rate than males.

In 2009–10, the overall rate of hospital separations for asthma was 177.5 per 100,000 population. The rate among children aged 0–14 (555.2 per 100,000 population) was markedly higher than the rate among people aged 15 and over (88.9 per 100,000 population).

Notes
1. Age-standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001.
2. Asthma classified according to International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code 493 and ICD, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes J45 and J46. Hospital separations coded to ICD-9-CM (1993–97) were converted to ICD-10-AM using the following conversion: ages 5–34, converted by a factor of 1.0326; ages 35–64, converted by a factor of 0.7938; ages 65 and over, converted by a factor of 0.4813. See A1.1.1 of Asthma in Australia 2011 for details about age standardisation and conversion/comparability factors.
3. Separations for which the care type was reported as Newborn with no qualified days, and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Among children, the peaks for hospitalisations occur in late summer and autumn. The reason for these seasonal peaks is not known, though they are likely to be related to a high prevalence of resipratory tract infection (e.g. the common cold) in children around this time.

Among adults, hospitalisation rates for asthma are highest in winter and early spring.

Seasonal variation in hospital separation rates for asthma, 2007 and 2008

Notes
1. Admissions for which the care type was reported as Newborn with no qualified days, and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.
2. Data are for admissions (not separations).
3. Asthma classified according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes J45 and J46.
4. Average admissions per week for 2007–08.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Compared with the general hospitalised population, those hospitalised for asthma are much younger. In 2009–10, more than half (59%) of all hospital separations for asthma were for children aged 0–14. In comparison, the proportion of all-cause hospital separations attributable to children was only 7%. Hospitalisations among people aged 65 and over represented a much larger proportion of all-cause hospital separations than asthma separations (37% versus 9%, respectively).

Source tables

Notes
1. Age-standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001. Asthma classified according to International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code 493 and ICD, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes J45 and J46. Hospital separations coded to ICD-9-CM (1993–97) were converted to ICD-10-AM using the following conversion: ages 5–34, converted by a factor of 1.0326; 35–64, converted by a factor of 0.7938; ages 65 and over, converted by a factor of 0.4813. See A1.1.1 of Asthma in Australia 2011 for details about age standardisation and conversion/comparability factors.
2. Separations for which the care type was reported as Newborn with no qualified days, and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.
3. Changes in the number of hospitalisations for asthma may be due to changes in the severity and prevalence of the disease in the community and/or the effectiveness of disease management. The use of hospital care for the management of exacerbations may also be influenced by the relative accessibility of hospital services and of alternative services such as general practitioners, especially after hours. Changes in admission criteria and administrative policies also affect hospital usage data.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Notes
1. Admissions for which the care type was reported as Newborn with no qualified days, and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.
2. Data are for admissions (not separations).
3. Asthma classified according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes J45 and J46.
4. Average admissions per week for 2007–08.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Notes
1. Age-standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001.
2. Separations for which the care type was reported as Newborn with no qualified days, and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded. Asthma classified according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes J45 and J46.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.