Emergency management of acute asthma.
BACKGROUND
Life threatening asthma is not an uncommon emergency and all doctors need to have an ordered approach to managing this problem both in the surgery and the home.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a plan for the rapid assessment and management of a patient with asthma. The main focus is on severe life threatening asthma and management is based on the equipment and medication a doctor is likely to have available in the surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
The key to successful treatment of life threatening asthma is a rapid assessment of severity, an early emergency call for an ambulance, oxygen, continuous nebulised beta 2 agonist, corticosteroids and the use of parenteral adrenaline for the patient in extremis.
Harris
Roger
R
Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney, University of Sydney, New South Wales. rdharris@doh.health.nsw.gov.au
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013224:Status Asthmaticus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents