title: An overview of thunderstorm-associated asthma outbreak in southwest of Iran.
abstract: The aim of this study was to report the characteristics and treatment strategies of all patients with acute bronchospasm who were presented to the emergency departments of Ahvaz, Iran, following the occurrence of a thunderstorm on November 2, 2013. A total of 2000 patients presenting with asthma attacks triggered by thunderstorm were interviewed and an initial questionnaire was completed for each individual. After twenty days, patients were asked to complete a supplementary questionnaire, but only 800 of them accepted to do so. The majority of subjects was aged 20-40 years (60.5%) and had no history of asthma in most cases (60.0%). The symptoms had started outdoors for 60.0% of the participants. In most patients, the onset of the condition was on November 2. Short-acting β 2-agonist (salbutamol) and aminophylline were the most commonly prescribed medications in the emergency department. Upon the second interview, 85.3% of the patients were still symptomatic. Overall, 63.6% did not have a follow-up visit after hospital discharge, although all of them were referred to the specialist. The findings of the present study suggest that thunderstorm-associated asthma could affect young adults with no gender priority, with or without asthma history, which put a strain on emergency medical services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Azadegan Avenue, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 61936-73116, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forouzan
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Azadegan Avenue, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 61936-73116, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Kambiz
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7234-5671
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masoumi
authors.affiliation: Departement of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonology, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haddadzadeh Shoushtari
authors.affiliation: Departement of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonology, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Esmaeil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Idani
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Azadegan Avenue, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 61936-73116, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tirandaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Azadegan Avenue, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 61936-73116, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feli
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Ahvaz Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Assarehzadegan
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Azadegan Avenue, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 61936-73116, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asgari Darian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002947:Cities / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014887:Weather; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: Med J Aust. 1992 Jun 15;156(12):834-7
references.pmid: 1603007
references.citation: Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 1998 Aug;116(4):253-60
references.pmid: 9693274
references.citation: QJM. 2013 Mar;106(3):207-17
references.pmid: 23275386
references.citation: Eur Respir J. 2000 Jul;16(1):3-8
references.pmid: 10933077
references.citation: Eur Respir J. 1998 Mar;11(3):694-701
references.pmid: 9596123
references.citation: BMJ. 1996 Mar 9;312(7031):604-7
references.pmid: 8595333
references.citation: Eur Respir Rev. 2012 Jun 1;21(124):82-7
references.pmid: 22654079
references.citation: Thorax. 2008 Jul;63(7):659-60
references.pmid: 18587040
references.citation: Can Respir J. 2002 Jul-Aug;9(4):267-70
references.pmid: 12195272
references.citation: Clin Exp Allergy. 1993 May;23(5):354-9
references.pmid: 8334534
references.citation: Thorax. 2001 Jun;56(6):468-71
references.pmid: 11359963
references.citation: Thorax. 2006 Aug;61(8):722-8
references.pmid: 16877691
references.citation: J Family Community Med. 2007 May;14(2):47-51
references.pmid: 23012145
references.citation: Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2004 Sep;4(5):409-13
references.pmid: 15283882
references.citation: Lancet. 1985 Jul 27;2(8448):199-204
references.pmid: 2862383