Impact of residential fine particulate matter exposure on acute chest syndrome (ACS) admissions in children with sickle cell disease.

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a common lung complication associated with high morbidity and mortality in children with sickle cell disease. The role of fine particulate matter (PM ) exposure in admissions for ACS is limited. We assessed residential level PM exposure in a case-crossover study of 503 patients admitted to Texas Children’s Hospital between 2010 and 2019 in Houston, TX. We examined whether short-term PM exposure is associated with increased odds of hospitalizations for ACS and found no association between PM exposures in the week proceeding an ACS-related admission. However, larger studies are needed to confirm or refute this finding.