BiPAP for 64 cases of severe bronchial asthma

Objective To investigate the effect and method of BiPAP in treating athma with acute exacerbation. Methods A total of 64 cases of acute severe bronchial asthma admitted by our hospital during Jan 2000 to Mar 2005 underwent mechanical ventilation with general medical treatment. The ventilation mode of ST-D BiPAP was adopted, IPAP was 16-26 cmH_ 2 O, EPAP was 4-8 cmH_ 2 O. The symptoms, signs and the arterial blood gas of the patients were recorded and analyzed. Results Among 64 patients, 5 were transformed to receive the nasotracheal tube owing to exacerbated conditions, assisted by traumatic mechanical ventilation; 3 gave up treatment; 1 died; 55 were rescued, with the survival rate of 85.8%. The increase of PaO_ 2 , pH and the decrease of PaCO_ 2 and the amelioration of symptoms and signs started 1.55 h after ventilation in BiPAP. The symptom score was less than 2 after mechanical ventilation for 24 h. The duration of mechanical ventilation was 76.5 h in average. Conclusion Ventilation in BiPAP is an effective method for acute severe bronchial asthma, which can save the patients' life and decrease the complications based on the combined medical therapy.