Contents

Disclaimer

Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Show Summary Details
Page of

Airflow limitation 

Airflow limitation
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2021. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 16 October 2021

Exacerbations of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be life-threatening emergencies, and require careful management to minimize the risks of morbidity and mortality. Prompt, full bronchodilator therapy, careful observation and appropriate mechanical ventilation technique is required. Dynamic hyperinflation of the lungs occurs in all patients, and must be careful assessed and regulated. Excessive dynamic hyperinflation can result in respiratory tamponade, hypotension, circulatory failure, pneumothoraces and, in severe cases, cardiac arrest. Intravenous or continuous nebulized salbutamol commonly causes lactic acidosis that should be detected and managed. Prolonged paralysis during difficult mechanical ventilation can result in severe necrotizing myopathy. Pneumothoraces in ventilated patients with asthma are usually under tension, redistribute ventilation to the contralateral lung, and risk a second tension pneumothorax. Patients surviving mechanical ventilation for asthma and COPD have an increased risk of recurrence and death. All these problems require awareness, avoidance or detection and management

Access to the complete content on Oxford Medicine Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.