[Is the incidence of near-fatal asthma decreasing in Spain?].

Bellido Casado Jesús, Plaza Vicente, Bardagí Santiago, Cosano Javier, López Viña Antolín, Martínez Moragón Eva, Rodríguez-Trigo Gema, Picado César, Sanchis Joaquim

Departament de Pneumologia, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, España.

Arch Bronconeumol. 2006 Oct;42(10):522-5.

OBJECTIVE

A number of studies have shown that both mortality and hospital admissions due to severe asthma have decreased in recent years in many parts of the world. However, the situation is Spain has not yet been analyzed. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of very severe, near-fatal asthma in recent years in various Spanish hospitals.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective review of hospital records from 6 hospitals in 5 Spanish autonomous communities was conducted for the period 1997 to 2004 to determine the annual number of patients who required orotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation due to an asthma attack.

RESULTS

Of the 130 patients included in the study, 81 (62%) were women and 61 (47%) were aged between 51 and 75 years. The number of cases observed for the periods 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 (32 and 18, respectively) was significantly lower than that observed for the 1997-1998 and 1999-2000 periods (40 in both cases; P=.019). A significant increase in the incidence was observed in autumn and winter (n=81 [62%]; P=.018). Seventeen patients (13%) died and 8 (6%) developed serious sequelae.

CONCLUSIONS

Although our sample of 6 hospitals is not widely representative of the entire population of hospitals in Spain, our findings strongly suggest a decrease in the incidence of near-fatal asthma in Spain in recent years.