Recognition and Treatment of Potentially Fatal Asthma
Authors: RONALD FELDMAN
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1962)

Article1 July 1962Recognition and Treatment of Potentially Fatal AsthmaRONALD FELDMAN, M.D.RONALD FELDMAN, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-57-1-29 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptIt has frequently been stated and taught that bronchial asthma is not a lethal illness. Our experience has led us to question this concept, and a review of the literature reveals that death from asthma is not rare. This report is based on 12 cases of the syndrome of fatal asthma and includes 2 patients who were resuscitated from near-fatal episodes. We have tried to find clinical and physiological clues which may help us to delineate the asthmatic patient who is apt to die during a paroxysm.Asthma was first described by Aretaeus, some 1,600 years ago, and the history...References1. 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Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Bronx, New YorkFrom the Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, Bronx, New York.Presented in part at the Eastern States Section of the American Thoracic Society, October 27-28, 1961, New York, New York.Supported in part by grant 1011 from the Health Research Council of the City of New York.Dr. Feldman is a Teaching Trainee of the American Thoracic Society.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Ronald Feldman, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. 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