title: Emergency extracorporeal life support for patients with near-fatal status asthmaticus.
abstract: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) was used to treat three patients with near-fatal status asthmaticus who did not respond to aggressive medical therapies and mechanical ventilation under controlled permissive hypercapnia. ECLS was instituted in patient 1 because PaCO2 was excessively high and pH was excessively low, in patient 2 because hypoxemia and shock were not responsive to treatment, and in patient 3 because of sustained severe hypotension. ECLS supported adequate gas exchange until pulmonary function improved, diminishing the need for mechanical ventilation and preventing pulmonary complications. Pulmonary dysfunction improved markedly after only 21 to 86 hours of ECLS. Aggressive medical treatments were continued during ECLS. Our findings indicate that ECLS is a useful method for preventing death in patients with near-fatal status asthmaticus.
authors.affiliation: Division of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kukita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurose
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terasaki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kohrogi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ando
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D003663:Decision Trees; D004630:Emergencies; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000379:methods*; D008170:Lung Compliance; D008875:Middle Aged; D011659:Pulmonary Gas Exchange; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D013224:Status Asthmaticus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*