Key result
Respiratory ICU management of status asthmaticus is linked to a low ~2% mortality rate.
Why the study?
Failure to recognize the severity of asthmatic attacks and lack of aggressive management contribute to asthma mortality, necessitating evaluation of outcomes in status asthmaticus patients managed in a respiratory intensive care unit.
Observational (n=86)
No
May support specialized respiratory ICU protocols for status asthmaticus; leaves open need for controlled comparisons.
Failure to recognize the severity of an asthmatic attack and its consequent lack of aggressive management have been incriminated as contributing factors in mortality from asthma. We reviewed our experience with patients in status asthmaticus admitted to the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) over a nine-year period to determine the course and mortality of patients managed in the RICU. Between May, 1968, and April, 1977, 86 patients in status asthmaticus were admitted, 11 with multiple admissions, for a total of 111 admissions. There were two fatalities recorded. Psychological dependence on therapeutic modalities probably contributed to these two deaths, and both may have been preventable. The low mortality rate probably reflects the more intensive management and monitoring that these severe asthmatics receive in an RICU setting.
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Santiago et al. (1980) conducted an observational in Status asthmaticus (n=86). Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) management was evaluated on Mortality. Management of status asthmaticus in a respiratory intensive care unit was associated with a low mortality rate, with 2 fatalities among 86 patients (2.3%) over a nine-year period.
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