Role of mechanical ventilation in acute severe asthma.

During the last 4 years, fifty-seven patients of acute severe asthma (ASA) were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). Twenty-three patients required mechanical ventilation (MV) on 25 occasions. Indications to intubate were persistent hypoxia (PaO2 < or = 55 mm Hg) or hypercapnia with respiratory acidosis (64%), abnormal mentation (24%) and respiratory arrest (12%). All the patients were monitored for clinical features, arterial blood gases (ABG) and peak airway pressure (PAP). During MV, there was one case of pneumothorax (4%), seven (28%) cases of transient hypertension and one (4%) patient died. Mean duration of MV was 3 days and the outcome was favourable. Therefore, resorting to aggressive treatment early in the course of disease proves life saving in acute severe asthma.