Acute asthma exacerbation is one of the most common reasons for paediatric emergency room visits and hospital admissions in the United States of America.

To assess the impact of CHD on outcomes of children hospitalised for acute asthma exacerbation.

Children primarily admitted for acute asthma exacerbation were sampled from 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2016 kid inpatient database of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project using ICD codes. The disease outcomes were compared between those with and without CHD using multivariate logistic regressions in Stata version 17.

There were a total of 639,280 acute asthma exacerbation admissions, of which 5,907 (0.92%) had CHD. The mortality rate was 0.079% for patients without CHD and 0.72% for those with co-existing CHD. Children with CHD had higher odds of mortality (5.51, CI 3.40–8.93, p < 0.001), acute respiratory failure (2.84, CI 2.53–3.20; p < 0.001), need for invasive mechanical ventilation (4.58, CI 3.80–5.52; p < 0.001), acute kidney injury (adjusted odds ratio 3.03, CI 3.03–7.44; p < 0.001), and in-hospital cardiac arrest (adjusted odds ratio 4.52, CI 2.49–8.19; p < 0.001) when compared with those without CHD. The adjusted mean length of hospital stays (CI 2.91–3.91; p < 0.001) and hospital charges (95% CI $31060–$47747) among children with acute asthma exacerbation and CHD were significantly higher than in those without CHD.

CHD is an independent predictor of mortality, more severe disease course, and higher hospital resource utilisation. Strategies that improve CHD care will likely improve the overall health outcomes of children with CHD hospitalised for acute asthma exacerbation.