Chest
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Review Meta Analysis
Heliox vs air-oxygen mixtures for the treatment of patients with acute asthma: a systematic overview.
To evaluate, by systematic review, the efficacy of heliox on respiratory mechanics and outcomes in patients with acute asthma. ⋯ Based on surrogate markers, heliox may offer mild-to-moderate benefits in patients with acute asthma within the first hour of use, but its advantages become less apparent beyond 1 h, as most conventionally treated patients improve to similar levels, with or without it. The effect of heliox may be more pronounced in more severe cases. There are insufficient data on whether heliox can avert tracheal intubation, or change intensive care and hospital admission rates and duration, or mortality.
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Review Meta Analysis
Use of helium-oxygen mixtures in the treatment of acute asthma: a systematic review.
To determine the effect of the addition of heliox to standard medical care on the course of acute asthma. ⋯ The existing evidence does not provide support for the administration of helium-oxygen mixtures to emergency department patients with moderate-to-severe acute asthma. However, these conclusions are based on between-group comparisons and small studies, and these results should be interpreted with caution.