Current opinion in pulmonary medicine
-
An important advance in our understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma has been the discovery that airway inflammation is not confined to severe asthma but also characterizes mild and moderate asthma. Inflammation in asthma may be the result of a peculiar type of lymphocytic inflammation whereby Th2 lymphocytes secrete cytokines that orchestrate cellular inflammation and promote airway hyperresponsiveness. The term "airway remodeling" in asthma refers to structural changes that occur in conjunction with, or because of, chronic airway inflammation. ⋯ The consequences of airway remodeling in asthma may include incompletely reversible airway narrowing, bronchial hyperresponsivenesss, airway edema, and mucus hypersecretion. Airway remodeling in asthma thus may predispose persons with asthma to asthma exacerbations and even death from airway obstruction caused by smooth muscle contraction, airway edema, and mucus plugging. Although much has been learned in the past 25 years about the pathophysiology of airway inflammation and airway remodeling in asthma, important questions remain about the relation between airway inflammation and remodeling, the natural history of airway remodeling, and the effects of current asthma treatments on remodeled airways.
-
The goal of management of patients with respiratory failure is to restore them to a state of quiet breathing, without complication. This goal is often achieved by pharmacotherapy alone. ⋯ In intubated patients, a ventilatory strategy that prolongs exhalation time and accepts hypercapnia minimizes lung hyperinflation and generally results in a good outcome. Acute asthma often represents failure of outpatient management; key aspects of the outpatient program should be addressed in the acute care setting to help prevent recurrent attacks.