Three cases of adolescent near-fatal asthma: what do they have in common?

Three adolescent asthmatics are described, who suffered from near fatal asthmatic attacks. The events occurred suddenly and required intubation and ventilation. However, the bronchial obstruction was fully reversible within less than 24 hours and the recovery complete. The similarities are discussed and a hypothesis for the differentiation to other well-known severe asthma attacks is introduced. Our three cases might be representative of a certain risk group of asthmatics.