The usefulness of Pediatric Asthma Assessment Score.

<bold>Background:</bold> Various asthma severity scores have been developed to assess the severity of asthmatic attacks and manage accordingly. Our study has implemented the Pediatric Asthma Assessment Score (PAAS) to evaluate respiratory parameters and guide treatment decisions. <bold>Objective:</bold> To demonstrate the association between using Pediatric Asthma Assessment Score and hospitalization rate, treatment duration and levels of care. <bold>Methods:</bold> A retrospective study analyzed data from children aged 2 to 18 years treated for acute asthma exacerbation in the emergency department between December 2020 and February 2023. The scores were assessed at initial, second score after first dose of nebulization , and final score. Demographic information, vital signs, treatments, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. <bold>Results:</bold> Data from 58 patients were analyzed, with an average age of 69 months. Among them, 84.4% required hospitalization. Both initial and final scores were significantly higher in the Admit group compared to the Discharge group. The initial score demonstrated good predictability for hospital admission, with a cutoff score of ≥ 5 points showing high predictive accuracy (sensitivity 95.9%, specificity 55.6%, PPV 89.7%). The second score was useful in predicting ICU admission (AUC 0.85), while the final score showed a stronger predictive trend for receiving high flow nasal cannula (p value 0.019). Higher final assessment scores correlated with longer durations of stay, hospitalization, ICU admission, and the need for oxygen therapy and high flow nasal cannula.