[Status asthmaticus; experience in a pediatric intensive care unit]

Thirty children presenting status asthmaticus in fifty episodes were studied during a period of three and a half years. All of them showed acute respiratory failure secondary to asthma. The purpose was to evaluate treatment results and complications compared with a previous similar study conducted in our unit. We have noticed that there is a lower number of admissions for SA in our ICU and a different seasonal tendency. Precious treatment of asthmatic crisis selective inhaled beta 2 bronchodilators can prevent the ICU admission of an asthmatic patient.