PSYCHIATRIC-SYMPTOMS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF PATIENTS WITH NEAR-FATAL ASTHMA - ABSENCE OF POSITIVE FINDINGS

Background: We examined the presence of psychiatric symptoms and perso nality characteristics in patients with asthma and near fatal asthma ( NFA). An NFA attack is defined by the presence of one or more of the f ollowing symptoms: respiratory arrest, alteration in consciousness, ne ed for mechanical ventilation, Pa CO2 > 50 mm Hg. Methods: To assess t he relevance of a specific psychiatric profile or the difference in pe rsonality characteristics existing in patients that survived an NFA at tack and asthmatic patients. The authors interviewed a sample of 17 as thmatic patients who experienced one or more NFA attacks. A control gr oup of 17 control patients with asthma who never experienced NFA attac ks was enrolled. After a baseline assessment, the patients underwent a n interview concerning their personal and familiar psychiatric history and a psychodiagnostic investigation using Hamilton scales for anxiet y and depression, Zung scales for anxiety and depression, and Minnesot a Multiphasic Personality Inventory. The study was performed in a 6-mo nth period. Results: No significant differences in the results of psyc hodiagnostic tests between NFA patients and the control group were rep orted. Psychiatric history was similar in the two groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that psychiatric symptoms and personality charact eristics are not related to the presence of asthma with or without NFA .