Clinical Reality of Asthma Death and Near-fatal Cases, in a Department of Pediatrics of a Japanese Chest Hospital

Abstract

Asthmatic deaths have shown a tendency to decrease in National Fukuoka Hospital. According to our analysis of asthma death and near-fatal asthma, the risk factor for death was considered as follows: low compliance, underestimation of severity (by patient or family), becoming used to attacks through experiencing many attacks, insufficient knowledge about attacks, overuse of β-stimulant metered-dose inhaler, etc. One of the reasons for the decrease in asthma death was thought to be the regular usage of many anti-asthmatic drugs especially inhaled corticosteroid.