Pediatric research
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Emergency department (ED) crowding may delay assessment and management and compromise outcomes. The association between the crowding metric time to physician initial assessment (PIA) and outcomes for children presenting for acute asthma is examined. ⋯ For children presenting to EDs for asthma, increased time to physician initial assessment adversely affects short-term outcomes of patients with less severe presentations to a greater extent compared to those who are most severe.Times to physician initial assessment are below recommended benchmarks; however, delays in care exist that impact LOS, odds of admission, and premature patient departures.Pediatric patients with severe asthma are seen quickly and their outcomes are excellent.Since crowding adversely affects short-term outcomes of pediatric patients with asthma, efforts to reduce ED crowding and assess patients with asthma in a more timely manner are needed.