Asthma is a common respiratory illness affecting 2.8 million Canadians, including 9.7% of Albertans. Prior studies showed a substantial decrease in ED visits for asthma in the decade preceding 2010, followed by a stabilization. This was attributed to improvements in the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments for asthma during that period followed by a balance between epidemiologic drivers and protective factors in the population. We assessed whether this trend continued in Alberta from 2010 to 2022 using population level data for the volume of daily ED visits, acuity of asthma exacerbations in the ED, and hospitalization rate. The mean number of ED visits decreased from 4.5 to 2.2 per million persons per day, but the acuity of exacerbations and the proportion requiring hospitalization increased. The number of patients presenting with the highest level of acuity increased by over 300%, and the percentage of patients requiring hospitalization increased from 6.8 to 11.3%. Total ED visits for asthma exacerbations continues to decline in Alberta. The reasons for an increase in more severe exacerbations requires further attention.

中文翻译：

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加拿大艾伯塔省哮喘急性发作的严重程度正在增加：一项基于人群的研究

哮喘是一种常见的呼吸道疾病，影响着 280 万加拿大人，其中包括 9.7% 的阿尔伯塔人。先前的研究表明，2010 年之前的十年中，因哮喘就诊的急诊人数大幅减少，随后趋于稳定。这归因于该时期哮喘药物和非药物治疗的改善，以及人群中流行病学驱动因素和保护因素之间的平衡。我们使用人口水平数据（每日急诊就诊量、急诊中哮喘恶化的严重程度以及住院率）评估了 2010 年至 2022 年阿尔伯塔省的这一趋势是否持续。平均每天每百万人就诊的急诊人数从 4.5 人减少到 2.2 人，但病情恶化的严重程度和需要住院治疗的比例有所增加。病情最严重的患者数量增加了300%以上，需要住院治疗的患者比例从6.8%增加到11.3%。艾伯塔省因哮喘加重而就诊的急诊总人数继续下降。更严重恶化增加的原因需要进一步关注。