title: Emergency management of acute asthma.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney, University of Sydney, New South Wales. rdharris@doh.health.nsw.gov.au
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents