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Asthma exacerbation

Prevalence
Clinical features
Differential Diagnosis
Investigations
Therapy
Prevention
Prognosis
Investigations

After therapy, repeat
  • PEFR c  
  • arterial blood gases c

Why?

  • Improvement in signs and symptoms in patients with asthma does not correlate well with improvement in PEFR. When 90% of patients feel better, 40% still have expiratory wheeze. When other clinical signs have gone, PEFR can be as low as 55% predicted. c
  • Blood gas levels of many patients improve following treatment. However improvement in FEV1 does not predict improvement in blood gas levels. c

 

Expiry date: November 2003
Levels of Evidence used in grading these guides

Authors   B   Wong , CM   Ball
Reviewer   B R   O'Driscoll
CAT Writers   B   Wong , CM   Ball