The pulmonary physician in critical care * 12: Acute severe asthma in the intensive care unit

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease that is associated with variable expiratory flow, variable respiratory symptoms, and exacerbations which sometimes require hospitalization or may be fatal. It is not only patients with severe and poorly controlled asthma that are at risk for an acute severe exacerbation, but this has also been observed in patients with otherwise mild or moderate asthma. This review discusses current aspects on the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of acute severe asthma exacerbations and provides the current perspectives on the management of acute severe asthma attacks in the emergency department and the intensive care unit.

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External Chest Compression in the Management of Acute Severe Asthma—A Technique in Search of Evidence

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x00025863 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 124-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Malcolm M. Fisher ◽

Anne P. Whaley ◽

Roger R. Pye

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Case Report ◽

Severe Asthma ◽

Chest Compression ◽

Sudden Onset ◽

Prehospital Setting ◽

Acute Severe Asthma ◽

Anecdotal Evidence ◽

External Chest Compression

AbstractCompelling anecdotal evidence exists for the potentially lifesaving benefits of mechanical external chest compression (MECC), but no published trials of the technique exist. The history and technique for MECC are discussed and illustrated by a case report. Although the technique is not discussed in the Resuscitation Guideline 2000, and the need for it within the intensive care unit has reduced, the use of MECC will have its greatest impact when initiated in the prehospital setting for patients suffering from severe, sudden-onset, asphyxic asthma.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Effect of 24-hour mandatory versus on-demand critical care specialist presence on quality of care and family and provider satisfaction in the intensive care unit of a teaching hospital.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1103924.561072 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Jim O'Brien

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Critical Care ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Quality Of Care ◽

Teaching Hospital ◽

Provider Satisfaction ◽

On Demand ◽

Care Specialist

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A Timely Call to Arms: COVID-19, the Circadian Clock, and Critical Care

Journal of Biological Rhythms ◽

10.1177/0748730421992587 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 55-70

Author(s):

Jeffrey Haspel ◽

Minjee Kim ◽

Phyllis Zee ◽

Tanja Schwarzmeier ◽

Sara Montagnese ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Human Physiology ◽

Critical Care ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Circadian Clock ◽

Clinical Course ◽

Disease Expression ◽

Severe Manifestation ◽

Novel Coronavirus

We currently find ourselves in the midst of a global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the highly infectious novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we discuss aspects of SARS-CoV-2 biology and pathology and how these might interact with the circadian clock of the host. We further focus on the severe manifestation of the illness, leading to hospitalization in an intensive care unit. The most common severe complications of COVID-19 relate to clock-regulated human physiology. We speculate on how the pandemic might be used to gain insights on the circadian clock but, more importantly, on how knowledge of the circadian clock might be used to mitigate the disease expression and the clinical course of COVID-19.

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