Register
Register
In 2019, it was estimated that 189,000 or about 7% of children in Illinois currently had asthma (IDPH, 2022) and about 8% have a food allergy (Gupta et al, 2019). The morbidity and consequences of pediatric asthma and allergy are significant. More than half of children living with asthma have experienced an exacerbation in the past year, resulting in 1 million emergency department visits, 140,000 hospitalizations, and 10.5 million missed school days each year (NCHS, 2012; Akinbami, 2009). A five-year study by Dyer at al. (2015) showed a 29% annual increase in emergency department visits and hospitalizations due to food-induced anaphylaxis among children in Illinois. Pediatric asthma care is usually in the province of primary care providers, but for children with difficult to control asthma, the need for subspecialty care is common. It is estimated that about 14% of children with asthma are referred to a subspecialist for consultation (Cabana et al, 2002). In Illinois, half of children living with asthma reported not having had a routine doctor’s visit in the previous year (IDPH, 2022).
Our Pediatric Allergy & Asthma series curriculum is designed to expand primary care capacity in diagnosing and managing asthma and associated allergies for most vulnerable children and to increase best practices for pediatric asthma and allergy management in the community.
Topics for Case-Based Learning and Discussion Include:
Physician in the Section of Pediatric Pulmonology & Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago
Fellow in Allergy/Immunology at the University of Chicago
© 2025 ECHO Chicago. All Rights Reserved.