Objective: To evaluate the management of asthma attacks in children up to five years of age treated in the pediatric emergency room of a hospital in the metropolitan area of the city of Recife, Brazil, as well as to determine whether the way in which asthma attacks are managed can influence the duration of emergency room visits for such children. Methods: A descriptive, exploratory study employing a quantitative, cross-sectional approach. The study sample comprised 246 children treated for asthma attacks in an emergency room. The approach used was evaluated in comparison with the approach recommended in the III Brazilian Consensus on Asthma Management, as was the length of time each child spent in the emergency room. Results: In 69 (28.1%) of the cases, the medications were used in accordance with the Consensus guidelines. In 34 (13.8%) of the cases, the doses used were those recommended in the Consensus guidelines, and the guidelines regarding nebulization procedures were followed in 33 cases (13.4%). No correlation was found between the approach taken and the length of the emergency room visit. In the logistic regression analysis, we observed that the adjusted risk of being released from the emergency room sooner than recommended in the Consensus guidelines (a length of time sufficient to allow the response to the treatment to be analyzed) was four times and fifteen times greater, respectively, for children with mild persistent asthma and for those with intermittent asthma. Conclusion: Although there are obstacles to using the asthma management approach recommended in the Consensus guidelines (such obstacles including the lack of familiarity with the guidelines on the part of the multidisciplinary team, as well as the lack of recommended material and therapeutic resources), the duration of emergency room visits was found to be related to the degree of asthma severity.

Keywords: Emergency medicine; Pediatrics; Asthma; Status asthmaticus