Project Summary. The goal of this project is to investigate potential associations between weight status and clinical outcomes of children treated for viral or bacterial lower respiratory tract infections or asthma. Our hypothesis is that children with overweight and obesity will have more hospitalizations and will require increased resource utilization compared to children with weight in the normal range.

Study Design. Retrospective data analysis

Data Elements. This study will retrospectively analyze data from the PEDSnet database on children ages 2 to 18 years seen in the emergency department between January 1, 2009 and January 1, 2014 with an ICD-9 diagnosis code of bronchiolitis, viral pneumonia, asthma, or community-acquired pneumonia. Data extracted will include height, weight, date of visit, hospital site/region, age, sex, race/ethnicity, public or no insurance status, length of stay, APRE-DRG (I-IV), positive pressure ventilation, discharge disposition, principal and any secondary diagnoses by ICD-9 code, total hospital charges, medications, and diagnostic testing.