| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of the present was to examine the precise mechanisms of death from asthma attacks. Specifically, I intended to clarify my hypothesis that an increase in physical activity and/or an inhalation of beta2-stimulant during an exerbation of asthma maybe a trigger of unconsciousness, leading to death.
Main findings in this project were as follows.
1. I interviewed to 28 patients with near-fatal asthma, who had in experience of unconsciousness during an attack or had received treatment with a mechanical ventilator. Sixty-eight percent of their near-fatal episodes had occurred just after the increasing physical activity, in particular walking, and 17 percent had occurred after/or during the inhalation of beta2-stimulant through an ultrasonic nebulizer. These results suggest that the increase in physical activity and the inhalation of beta2-stimulant during an exerbation of asthma may be a trigger of unconsciousness, leading to death.
2 It was also demonstrated that both the increase physical activity and the inhalation of beta2-stimulant decreased in arterial oxygen saturation during an exacerbation of asthma. The more severe airway bronchoconstriction expressed by peak expiatory flow was, the more oxygen saturation decreased by an inhalation of beta2-stimulant.
3. It was demonstrated that doxapram increases the perception of dyspnea during breathing through resistances as well as hypoxic ventilatory response. This suggest that doxapram may improve the two risk factors, i.e. blunted perception of dyspnea and lower edhypoxic ventilatory response, of patients with near-fatal asthma. This drug may be useful for a treatment for patients with near-fatal asthma.
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