Combined ventilator and bicarbonate strategy in the management of status asthmaticus

Management of intubated hypercapnic asthmatic patients requires a delicate balance between the control of pH with adequate ventilation and the risk of barotrauma associated with the high pressures that may be required. The present report documents a strategy of mechanical ventilation combined with infusion of large amounts of bicarbonate in three patients with severe status asthmaticus requiring intubation. This strategy reduced peak inflation pressure by decreasing ventilation and maintained a physiologic pH while allowing pCO2 to remain elevated.