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    Patent Pending

    Pediatric Asthma Score (PAS)

    Stratifies asthma severity in children.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    Do not use in patients under 2 years of age, in severe distress, or with clear alternative diagnosis.

    When to Use
    Pearls/Pitfalls
    Why Use
    • Use in children aged 2-18 years with asthma exacerbation to guide inpatient medical management.  
    • Can also be applied in the emergency department.
    • Should not be used to evaluate patients with significant comorbidities (e.g. sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis).
    • The PAS was evaluated based on patients that had already received oral or IV steroids within 30 minutes of treatment initiation.
    • Helpful in patients unwilling or unable to comply with peak expiratory flow measurement.
    • May quantify severity of asthma, but cannot predict response to treatment prior to intervention.
    • Good inter-observer agreement among physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists in an ED setting.
    • Developed based on published guidelines of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program in an effort to improve outcomes.

    Asthma is the most common reason for hospital admission from the emergency department in children. When combined with a treatment protocol based on severity, the PAS has been shown to decrease length of stay, reduce costs, and improve quality of care.

    breaths/min
    years
    >95% on room air
    +1
    90-95% on room air
    +2
    <90% on room air or any supplemental oxygen
    +3
    Normal breath sounds to end-expiratory wheeze only
    +1
    Expiratory wheezing
    +2
    Inspiratory and expiratory wheezing to diminished breath sounds
    +3
    None or intercostal
    +1
    Intercostal and substernal
    +2
    Intercostal, substernal, and supraclavicular
    +3
    Speaks in sentences (or coos and babbles)
    +1
    Speaks partial sentences (or short cry)
    +2
    Speaks in single words or short phrases (or grunts)
    +3

    Result:

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    Next Steps
    Evidence
    Creator Insights
    Dr. Cynthia Kelly

    About the Creator

    Cynthia Kelly, MD, is a professor of pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School. She has been the primary investigator for research funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. Dr. Kelly’s clinical practice and research focuses on pediatric patients with allergic and immunologic disorders, including asthma, allergic rhinitis and others.

    To view Dr. Cynthia Kelly's publications, visit PubMed

    Are you Dr. Cynthia Kelly? Send us a message to review your photo and bio, and find out how to submit Creator Insights!
    MDCalc loves calculator creators – researchers who, through intelligent and often complex methods, discover tools that describe scientific facts that can then be applied in practice. These are real scientific discoveries about the nature of the human body, which can be invaluable to physicians taking care of patients.
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