Studying the Causes of Acute Asthma Attacks at Damascus Hospital, Treatment, Hospitalization, and Deaths

Abstract

Introduction: Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammation of the airways. Patients with an acute asthma attack who rely on emergency department services are generally considered to have severely poor disease control and prognosis. It is important to determine the characteristics of patients with an acute asthma attack, factors related to poor disease control, and measures presented and complications to apply appropriate clinical management. Methods A retrospective study was conducted for patients admitted with an acute asthma attack story in Damascus Hospital. Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between sex and death with patient variables. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test were used to compare the means of continuous variables (eg, age, duration of asthma). A value (p < 0.05) was adopted as statistical significance. Results Out of 140 patients, 26.4% were male, and 73% were female, with an average age of 47.4 years. Most of the patients were non-smokers (68.6%), and 12.9% were former smokers. The shortness of breath was presented in 95.7% and cough in 80.7% of the patients. Respiratory infections were 32.9% of the main triggers of an asthma attack. And each of the antibiotics 87.9%, steroids 85.7%, and Compevent 67.9% were the most prominent treatments used to manage an acute asthma attack at the hospital. Gender, age, duration of asthma and death showed a statistically significant relationship with the study variables. Conclusions Providing country-specific data on patterns of practice in acute asthma attack management is critical in Syria. The development of asthma leads to a deterioration in the quality of life characterized by limited activities and loss of ability to function independently. Therefore, programs aimed to prevent acute asthma attacks and raise awareness about the importance of adherence to drug treatment and avoidance of triggers must be implemented. Emphasis should be placed on achieving asthma control in older adult patients to improve their quality of life and reduce their economic burden.