Asthmatic status is a pathological condition of asthma that poses a real threat to life. It is a severe asthma attack that does not stop with the usual set of drugs (inhaled bronchodilators) and which causes symptoms of respiratory failure. Asthmatic status requires immediate medical attention. It is important to understand and realize the potential threat of asthmatic status, to carry out its prevention in the early stages.
Symptoms typical of asthmatic status are the inability to complete the proposal to the end, shortness of breath that does not go away even at rest. There may be a feeling of compression of the chest, the appearance of blue circles around the lips. A feeling of confusion, anxiety, inability to concentrate may also appear. To facilitate breathing, the patient strongly strains the muscles of the neck and abdomen. A person begins to sit or get up, stoop to find a comfortable pose for breathing. All this is characteristic of the first manifestations of respiratory failure.
Asthmatic status, unlike asthma, may not be accompanied by wheezing and coughing. This condition causes significant damage to the respiratory tract, in which a lack of air (both inhaled and exhaled) does not cause the occurrence of coughing or wheezing.
Before the onset of asthmatic status, warning signs often occur. Although sometimes it happens very quickly and then develops into suffocation. According to some modern studies, such patients do not protect themselves well from exposure to allergens at home or at work. They rarely use a pneumotachometer and take inhaled glucocorticoids. Inhaled steroids are modern anti-inflammatory drugs that are very effective in reducing inflammatory reactions in the airways.
The reasons for the development of asthmatic status are still unknown.
To make a diagnosis of asthmatic status, the doctor must conduct a general examination, during which it is determined how auxiliary muscles are used for breathing. The doctor should also check the pulse, respiratory rate, the presence of wheezing on inhalation and exhalation. In addition, you can use additional functional tests to assess the functioning of the respiratory system: a test for blood oxygenation with oxygen, maximum expiratory flow. Then, examinations of other organs are carried out: the oral cavity, throat, upper respiratory tract, chest.
Unfortunately, asthmatic status does not respond to the usual use of inhalers. Treatment is usually necessary with regular use of aerosols and parenteral administration of drugs such as prednisone and epinephrine. Parenteral administration of terbutaline, magnesium sulfate (to relax the muscles of the respiratory tract) and leukotriene inhibitors (anti-inflammatory drugs) is also used.
Treatment of an asthmatic status that does not respond to the medication used for asthma should be carried out in a hospital, as mechanical ventilation may be required . After the acute attack resolves, lung function is restored. However, the need to remain in the intensive care unit does not disappear.
In order for the urgent hospitalization not to arise, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment as soon as the first minor signs of the disease appear. If you have asthma, you need to be regularly examined by a doctor: he will check the lung performance and prescribe the necessary medications.