Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Acute severe asthma treated by mechanical ventilation: 10 years' experience from a district general hospital.
  1. A R Luksza,
  2. P Smith,
  3. J Coakley,
  4. I J Gordan,
  5. S T Atherton

    Abstract

    A retrospective study was made of patients requiring mechanical ventilation (intermittent positive pressure ventilation--IPPV) for acute severe asthma in a district general hospital during 1974-83. Thirty two patients required IPPV on 34 occasions. Complications included pneumothorax in six (18%) patients, chest infection in 12 (35%) patients, pulmonary collapse in three (9%) patients, hypotension at induction of IPPV in 12 (35%), and gastrointestinal bleeding in three (9%). Three (9%) patients died. Therapeutic bronchial lavage was performed in 19 patients. The procedure produced a rise in effective static compliance from a mean of 17 (SD 6) ml/cm H2O to 24 (9) ml/cm H2O at four hours. Bronchial lavage was associated with a significant excess of respiratory infections. A feature common to most patients was undertreatment before admission to hospital.

    Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.