CLINICAL-FEATURES, MANAGEMENT, AND OUTCOME OF PATIENTS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA ADMITTED TO THE INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT

The objective of this study was to retrospectively review the medical records of 38 consecutive admissions to the medical intensive care uni t of a tertiary-care university hospital of patients with severe asthm a, and to determine the clinical characteristics oi these patients, tr eatment regimens, and ultimate outcome. The 38 patients presented with severe asthma accompanied by hypoxemia, hypercapnia (mean pCO(2) of 5 4.3 +/- 4.5 mm Hg), and decreased peak flow rates (125.5 +/- 12.4 L/mi n). The patients spent a mean of 60.1 +/- 9.7 hr in the medical intens ive care unit. Seventeen of the 38 patients required intubation and me chanical ventilation. Overall, there were no deaths or significant com plications. All 38 patients were discharged from the hospital. We conc lude that severe, life- threatening asthma can be appropriately manage d in the medical intensive care unit with a low incidence of complicat ions and death. Prolonged mechanical ventilation is rarely required an d most patients respond well to relatively simple management strategie s.