Respiratory failure in childhood status asthmaticus
F. E. Simons, W. E. Pierson and C. W. Bierman
Thirteen of 356 children consecutively admitted for treatment of status
asthmaticus in a 37-month period experienced 19 episodes of respiratory
failure, an incidence of 5.3%. In this retrospective study, all children
received similar pharmacologic therapy after admission, and all were
treated with nasotracheal intubation and controlled ventilation with a
volume-cycled ventilator. Mean duration of mechanical ventilation was 54
hours and mean duration of hospital stay was 7.5 days. Complications
occurred in nine of 19 episodes and there was one death not directly
related to acute asthma. It is possible that 12 of the 19 episodes of
respiratory failure might have been prevented by more prompt or more
appropriate treatment of the child with acute asthma.
