Emergency management of acute asthma.
Australian family physician · 2002-09-01 · Other / unclear
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Life threatening asthma is not an uncommon emergency and all doctors need to have an ordered approach to managing this problem both in the surgery and the home. OBJECTIVE: To develop a plan for the rapid assessment and management of a patient with asthma. The main focus is on severe life threatening asthma and management is based on the equipment and medication a doctor is likely to have available in the surgery. CONCLUSION: The key to successful treatment of life threatening asthma is a rapid assessment of severity, an early emergency call for an ambulance, oxygen, continuous nebulised beta 2 agonist, corticosteroids and the use of parenteral adrenaline for the patient in extremis.
Tags
Adrenaline · Cardiovascular drugs · Corticosteroids · Other drugs · Oxygen · Respiratory drugs