OBJECTIVES: To investigate the characteristics, trends in management (permissive hypercapnia; mechanical ventilation (MV); neuromuscular blockade) and their impact on complications and outcomes in Status Asthmaticus (SA). METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study of subjects admitted with SA to a single multidisciplinary MICU over a 30-year period. All laboratory, radiologic, respiratory care, physician notes and orders were extracted from an electronic medical record (EMR) maintained during the entire duration of the study. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-seven subjects were admitted with 280 episodes of SA. While subjects reflected our regional population (52% Hispanic), African Americans were over-represented (22%) and Caucasians under-represented (21%). Thirty-eight percent reported childhood asthma, 27% were steroid dependent (10% in the last 10 years), and 18% had a recent steroid taper. One hundred and thirty-nine (61.2%) required intubation. The duration of hospitalization was similar between mechanically ventilated and non-ventilated subjects (5.8±4.41 vs. 6.8±7.22 days; p=0.07). The overall complication rate remained low irrespective of the use of permissive hypercapnia or mode of mechanical ventilation (overall mortality 0.4%; pneumothorax 2.5%; pneumonia 2.9%). The frequency of SA declined significantly in the last 10 years of the study (12.4 vs. 3.2 cases/year). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the frequent use of mechanical ventilation, mortality/complication rates remained extremely low. MV did not significantly increase the duration of hospitalization. At our institution, the frequency of SA significantly decreased despite an increase in emergency room visits for asthma. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the characteristics, trends in management (permissive hypercapnia; mechanical ventilation (MV); neuromuscular blockade) and their impact on complications and outcomes in Status Asthmaticus (SA). METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study of subjects admitted with SA to a single multidisciplinary MICU over a 30-year period. All laboratory, radiologic, respiratory care, physician notes and orders were extracted from an electronic medical record (EMR) maintained during the entire duration of the study. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-seven subjects were admitted with 280 episodes of SA. While subjects reflected our regional population (52% Hispanic), African Americans were over-represented (22%) and Caucasians under-represented (21%). Thirty-eight percent reported childhood asthma, 27% were steroid dependent (10% in the last 10 years), and 18% had a recent steroid taper. One hundred and thirty-nine (61.2%) required intubation. The duration of hospitalization was similar between mechanically ventilated and non-ventilated subjects (5.8±4.41 vs. 6.8±7.22 days; p=0.07). The overall complication rate remained low irrespective of the use of permissive hypercapnia or mode of mechanical ventilation (overall mortality 0.4%; pneumothorax 2.5%; pneumonia 2.9%). The frequency of SA declined significantly in the last 10 years of the study (12.4 vs. 3.2 cases/year). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the frequent use of mechanical ventilation, mortality/complication rates remained extremely low. MV did not significantly increase the duration of hospitalization. At our institution, the frequency of SA significantly decreased despite an increase in emergency room visits for asthma. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Authors: Carmen Sílvia Valente Barbas; Alexandre Marini Isola; Augusto Manoel de Carvalho Farias; Alexandre Biasi Cavalcanti; Ana Maria Casati Gama; Antonio Carlos Magalhães Duarte; Arthur Vianna; Ary Serpa Neto; Bruno de Arruda Bravim; Bruno do Valle Pinheiro; Bruno Franco Mazza; Carlos Roberto Ribeiro de Carvalho; Carlos Toufen Júnior; Cid Marcos Nascimento David; Corine Taniguchi; Débora Dutra da Silveira Mazza; Desanka Dragosavac; Diogo Oliveira Toledo; Eduardo Leite Costa; Eliana Bernardete Caser; Eliezer Silva; Fabio Ferreira Amorim; Felipe Saddy; Filomena Regina Barbosa Gomes Galas; Gisele Sampaio Silva; Gustavo Faissol Janot de Matos; João Claudio Emmerich; Jorge Luis Dos Santos Valiatti; José Mario Meira Teles; Josué Almeida Victorino; Juliana Carvalho Ferreira; Luciana Passuello do Vale Prodomo; Ludhmila Abrahão Hajjar; Luiz Cláudio Martins; Luiz Marcelo Sá Malbouisson; Mara Ambrosina de Oliveira Vargas; Marco Antonio Soares Reis; Marcelo Brito Passos Amato; Marcelo Alcântara Holanda; Marcelo Park; Marcia Jacomelli; Marcos Tavares; Marta Cristina Paulette Damasceno; Murillo Santucci César Assunção; Moyzes Pinto Coelho Duarte Damasceno; Nazah Cherif Mohamad Youssef; Paulo José Zimmermann Teixeira; Pedro Caruso; Péricles Almeida Delfino Duarte; Octavio Messeder; Raquel Caserta Eid; Ricardo Goulart Rodrigues; Rodrigo Francisco de Jesus; Ronaldo Adib Kairalla; Sandra Justino; Sérgio Nogueira Nemer; Simone Barbosa Romero; Verônica Moreira Amado Journal: Rev Bras Ter Intensiva Date: 2014 Apr-Jun