Contribution of multiple inert gas elimination technique to pulmonary medicine. 3. Bronchial asthma

Abstract

Historical background In 1967 two Australian chest physicians drew attention to the importance of arterial blood gas abnormalities in 12 patients with status asthmaticus (acute severe asthma) and in 64 arterial others with clinically less severe disease.' They documented that in many patients with asthma blood gas abnormalities were commonly present, usually mild to moderate life hypoxaemia. Likewise they outlined that, even when this fall in Pao2 was insufficient to induce threatening hypoxaemia, it rendered patients more vulnerable to effects from any further increase in airways obstruction. Even though there was a correlation between the reduction in forced expiratory volume in one Normal 151.0 E i. 00 0 V .0 C0 ._Servei de Pneumologia i Al.lergia Respiratoria, Hospital Clinic, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain R Rodriguez-Roisin 0-5 0.0 0-60-40.2Chronic severe asthma S second (FEVI) and the extent of arterial blood gas abnormalities, FEVy levels >10 litres were not a reliable predictor of the Pao2.