Unremitting asthma attack that can be fatal is called what?

Prepare for your CVP and GI Pathology Exam. Study using flashcards and multiple choice questions with hints and explanations to excel in your test.

Multiple Choice

Unremitting asthma attack that can be fatal is called what?

Status asthmaticus is a prolonged, unremitting asthma attack that does not respond to standard therapy and can be fatal. It represents severe bronchospasm with ongoing airway inflammation and mucus plugging, leading to marked airflow limitation and respiratory failure if not treated promptly. Clinically, you’d see severe dyspnea with tachypnea and use of accessory muscles, often progressing to a quiet chest as fatigue and profound airflow obstruction set in. Oxygenation can worsen as the attack persists, and carbon dioxide may accumulate, signaling impending respiratory collapse. This is an emergency requiring rapid escalation of care: aggressive bronchodilator therapy, systemic corticosteroids, and airway support, with consideration of magnesium sulfate and possible intubation and mechanical ventilation in critical cases. The other forms of asthma differ in triggering factors or underlying mechanisms but are not inherently defined by a failure to respond to therapy or by a life-threatening course. Atopic asthma is the allergic, IgE-mediated type; non-atopic asthma lacks an allergic trigger; occupational asthma stems from workplace sensitizers.

Status asthmaticus is a prolonged, unremitting asthma attack that does not respond to standard therapy and can be fatal. It represents severe bronchospasm with ongoing airway inflammation and mucus plugging, leading to marked airflow limitation and respiratory failure if not treated promptly.

Clinically, you’d see severe dyspnea with tachypnea and use of accessory muscles, often progressing to a quiet chest as fatigue and profound airflow obstruction set in. Oxygenation can worsen as the attack persists, and carbon dioxide may accumulate, signaling impending respiratory collapse. This is an emergency requiring rapid escalation of care: aggressive bronchodilator therapy, systemic corticosteroids, and airway support, with consideration of magnesium sulfate and possible intubation and mechanical ventilation in critical cases.

The other forms of asthma differ in triggering factors or underlying mechanisms but are not inherently defined by a failure to respond to therapy or by a life-threatening course. Atopic asthma is the allergic, IgE-mediated type; non-atopic asthma lacks an allergic trigger; occupational asthma stems from workplace sensitizers.

More practice questions