OBJECTIVE: Economically disadvantaged @entity1 receive less preventive @entity565 care and more inpatient care. Studies have not evaluated the association of insurance status on @entity1 with severe exacerbations. We evaluated differences in severity of illness, resource use, and outcome associated with Medicaid insurance among @entity1 receiving intensive care for @entity565 . DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Fourteen American pediatric intensive care units participating in the Pediatric Intensive Care Evaluations database. Methods: @entity1 with a primary diagnosis of @entity565 treated from May 1995 to February 2000 were identified. Demographic information and clinical data were evaluated to determine whether there was an association between Medicaid insurance, severity of illness, and length of stay. RESULTS: Twenty-six percent of the @entity1 had Medicaid insurance; 22% of @entity1 with Medicaid insurance received mechanical ventilation compared with 15% of those with commercial insurance and 16% in a health maintenance organization. After adjustment for severity of illness (Pediatric Risk of Mortality III and use of invasive therapies), Medicaid insurance was significantly associated with increased length of stay in the intensive care unit and hospital. Among @entity1 who received mechanical ventilation, @entity1 with Medicaid also received ventilator support significantly longer. CONCLUSIONS: Asthmatic @entity1 receiving Medicaid had longer pediatric intensive care unit and hospital stays and an increased risk of mechanical ventilation compared with @entity748 @entity1 with commercial or health maintenance organization insurance. Further studies are needed to evaluate differences in outcome and resource utilization for economically disadvantaged @entity748 @entity1 .

Acute severe XXXX : Outcome and Medicaid insurance.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'Patients', 'patients'] @entity565 :: ('MESH:D001249', 'Disease') :: ['asthma'] @entity748 :: ('MESH:D013224', 'Disease') :: ['asthmatic']
@entity565 :: (MESH:D001249,Disease) :: ['asthma']
