UC San Diego

Asthma is the leading chronic disease among the pediatric population. Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego established the Severe Asthma Clinic (SAC), a multidisciplinary clinic, with a goal is to reduce asthma healthcare utilization and improve the quality of life for patients with severe asthma. This study aims to 1) describe the SAC patients' demographics, 2) assess the frequency of ED visits, hospitalizations, and systemic steroid prescriptions post-SAC visit, and 3) investigate changes in Asthma Therapy Assessment Questionnaire (ATAQ) scores and pulmonary function test (PFT) results with each SAC visit.A retrospective analysis was performed on patients seen at the clinic from 2015 to 2020. Measures were compared using paired Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests, and a linear mixed-effects model with a random intercept structure. Results were reported in median and quartile (Q1-Q3) format. A total of 153 patients were included with a median age of 9.85 (6.57- 13.80) at the first SAC visit. With an increase in time by one-month post-SAC, there was improved asthma control and improved lung function (see Figure 3.1). Multidisciplinary care at the SAC was associated with significant decrease in healthcare utilization (ED visits, hospitalizations) and improvement in asthma control for pediatric patients with severe asthma.