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Once the EMS professional concludes that the most likely diagnosis is an asthma exacerbation, treatment centers around reversing bronchoconstriction and airway inflammation, correcting hypoxemia, rehydration and monitoring for complications – such as pneumothorax.
These pathophysiologic changes cause distal alveoli to trap air and become hyperinflated. As the amount of hyperinflated lung tissue expands, the child’s diaphragm is progressively flattened, causing a mechanical disruption of ventilation. Increased workload for ventilation is transferred onto smaller and weaker intercostal and suprasternal muscles, leading to rapid fatigue and onset of respiratory failure. Dylla L, Acquisto NM, Manzo F, Cushman JT. Dexamethasone-Related Perineal Burning in the Prehospital Setting: A Case Series. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2018 Sep-Oct;22(5):655-658. Mechanical ventilation may be necessary in rare cases. Non-invasive ventilation with bi-level positive airway pressure can help stave off intubation and preserves the conscious patient’s respiratory drive. Intubation and mechanical ventilation are the last resort for patients with refractory respiratory failure and/or respiratory arrest. Joey Wahler (Host): Asthma is a condition that adversely affects breathing, so we’re discussing pediatric asthma and how it’s treated. This is Maimo Med Talk. Thanks for listening. I’m Joey Wahler. Status asthmaticus is a life-threatening condition of progressively-worsening bronchospasm and respiratory dysfunction due to asthma that is unresponsive to conventional therapy. It typically progresses into respiratory failure or arrest and requires aggressive ventilatory and pharmacological interventions.Joey Wahler (Host): Wow, what a great story and makes me wonder in closing here, when you’re able to impact lives like that, and I’m sure you’ve done so many times over since, how rewarding is that for you?
Joey Wahler (Host): Aha. So actually it’s not necessarily warmer climate as much as colder, dryer climate, which most people probably would not think is the case. Okay. So how about treating pediatric asthma. What are the common treatments? Nassif A, Ostermayer DG, Hoang KB, Claiborne MK, Camp EA, Shah MI. Implementation of a Prehospital Protocol Change For Asthmatic Children. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2018 Jul-Aug;22(4):457-465. Secondly, if a child has asthma, identify how severe the problem is with the help of a physician, and then decide whether the child can use medicine on an as needed basis, triggering only the symptoms of the disease or whether they’ve crossed that threshold of severity and they need daily prevention therapy.
Have a Capnography Story?
The EMS1 Academy features “Capnography for BLS: Getting Started with Capnography,” a one-hour accredited course designed to introduce the benefits of capnography, present a basic understanding of the capnogram, and how to use it to explore the physiology of the respiratory cycle. Visit the EMS1 Academy to learn more and schedule a demo. Dr Michael Marcus: There are two approaches that are important to take. One is to identify the triggers as best as possible. I do allergy testing, monitor the patient’s response in different environments and to different foods, so that if we can identify the triggers for their asthma and are able to avoid those triggers, we can decrease the risk of symptoms being set off. If a child is allergic to cats, for example, you certainly would rather not have a cat in the house and you definitely do want the cat in the child’s room ever. That’s just one example. Dr Michael Marcus: It’s interesting, but roaches and mice both produce a potent protein that can trigger the same type of inflammatory reaction that leads to the symptoms of asthma. And so early and high concentration of exposure to those things will give a child greater symptoms of their asthma conditions.
Joey Wahler (Host): Absolutely. Great to hear. Thanks again for the story. And of course, for all the other information. Folks, we trust your now more familiar with asthma in children. Dr. Michael Marcus, thanks so much again. Our guest from Maimonides is Dr. Michael Marcus, Director of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and Allergy Immunology and Vice Chair of the Pediatric Ambulatory Network. Dr. Marcus, thanks for joining us. The key here is that if we use daily prevention therapy properly, then we decrease the risk that the asthma will become more severe with age and give children the best opportunity to have the healthiest life. If we delay using the prevention therapy and continue to treat asthma on an as needed basis, treating only the symptoms, then we miss the opportunity of preventing progressive damage and limiting the severity of asthma over time. Finally, fluid shifts into the walls of the lower airway, resulting in inflammation and a decrease in airway diameter. The net result is a narrowing of the small airways with increased resistance to airflow. Shah MN, Cushman JT, Davis CO, Bazarian JJ, Auinger P, Friedman B. The epidemiology of emergency medical services use by children: an analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2008 Jul-Sep;12(3):269-76.
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Breathing isn’t something most people think about but, for some, it doesn’t come naturally. Knowing your child has asthma is the first step to dealing with it. Dr. Michael Marcus discusses what to look out for and what to do about it. Physically, the patient appears to be in moderate respiratory distress, with suprasternal and intercostal retractions. His vital signs include a respiratory rate of 40/minute, heart rate of 120/minute, and pulse oximetry of 93% on room air. Lung exam is notable for diffuse inspiratory and expiratory bilateral wheezing, poor air movement and a prolonged expiratory phase. The remainder of the examination is unremarkable. Case discussion – Asthma pathophysiology It is difficult to match an asthma patient’s hyperventilation, and lower tidal volumes should be used to avoid barotrauma in the setting of hyperinflation. Finally, intravenous ketamine at doses starting at 2 mg/kg, is gaining favor as an adjunctive bronchodilator, especially for agitated patients in respiratory distress [8]. References
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