Hospital admission for symptoms exacerbation in 2,075 infants suffering from recurrent asthma-like symptoms: (EISL-3 South America).

Background: Contrary to what happens in children and adults, the prevalence and the factors related to hospitalisation for asthma/wheezing in infants with recurrent asthma-like symptoms are poorly known.

Methods: This study is part of the International Study of Wheezing in infants Phase 3; 2,079 infants (aged 12-18 months) with recurrent asthma-like symptoms, from 11 South American centres, were studied to determine the prevalence and the associated factors for wheezing exacerbation admission. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were employed for analysis.