BACKGROUND Asthma is the most common chronic pulmonary disease during pregnancy. Several previous reports have documented reversible electrocardiographic changes during severe acute asthma attacks, including tachycardia, P pulmonale, right bundle branch block, right axis deviation, and ST segment and T wave abnormalities. CASE REPORT We present the case of a pregnant patient with asthma exacerb...

Blood gas measurements obtained during 35 episodes of acute, severe asthma in 19 children were analysed. Arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) was mean (SD) 5.7 (1.2) kPa and the arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) was 7.7 (1.1)kPa. Hypoxaemia was severe (PaO2 less than or equal to 7.9 kPa) on 19 occasions, was present alone (type I) on eight of these, and was associated with hypercapnia (type II)...

increased arginase activity in the airways decreases l-arginine and causes deficiency of bronchodilating and anti-inflammatory nitric oxide (no) in asthma. as, it is suggested that l-arginine may have therapeutic potential in asthma treatment, we aimed to investigate the effects of inhaled l-arginine on oxygen saturation (sao₂) and airway histology in a murine model of acute asthma. twenty eigh...

1 Jenne JW, Siever JR, Druz WS, Solano JV, Cohen SM, Sharp JT. The effect ofmaintenance theophylline therapy on lung work in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease while standing and walking. Am Rev Respir Dis 1984;130: 600-5. 2 Chrystyn H, Mulley BA, Peake MD. Dose response relation to oral theophylline in severe chronic obstructive airways disease. BMJ 1988;297: 1506-10. 3 Noseda A, Sch...

Acute severe asthma is one of the most common medical emergency situations in childhood, and physicians caring for acutely ill children are regularly faced with this condition. In this article we present a summary of the pathophysiology as well as guidelines for the treatment of acute severe asthma in children. The cornerstones of the management of acute asthma in children are rapid administrat...

BACKGROUND Studies of IV magnesium sulfate as a treatment for acute asthma have had mixed results, with some data suggesting a benefit for acute severe asthma, but not for mild-to-moderate asthma. In a multicenter cohort, this study tests the hypothesis that administration of magnesium sulfate improves pulmonary function in patients with acute severe asthma. DESIGN Placebo-controlled, double-...

Seventy asthmatic patients newly referred to a hospital outpatient clinic have been studied. In one-third of the patients the diagnosis of asthma had not been considered. Eight patients presented with an FEV1 of one litre or less. Acute severe asthma is commonly believed to precede death from asthma, but patients with more chronic symptoms may have equally severe airways obstruction without app...

Asthma exacerbation is associated with respiratory infections, including those by viruses and atypical bacteria. We herein report a case of severe acute asthma in an adult caused by Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) infection. A 39-year-old woman without a history of asthma reported to the emergency department with progressive worsening of cough, shortness of breath, and wheezing with lo...