Unexpected Death in Childhood Asthma

Psychological factors in fatal childhood asthma.

“…Although the medical literature contains over 100 articles dealing with asthma fatalities in adults, much less attention has been given to the problem in children. In 1957, Dees 5 heightened the medical awareness of the number of asthma deaths reported among children and several recent reviews have summarized the subsequent work in the areas of epidemiology, pharmacology, and pulmonary physiology 14, 17, 22 . The scant literature dealing with psychological factors in childhood asthma deaths was reviewed by Friedman 8 .…”

Children's perception of breathlessness in acute asthma

“…In teenagers, as with adults, many deaths occur at home or on the way to hospital 23 6 While this sometimes reflects the rapidity of onset,3 8 fatal attacks frequently develop over several hours 34 10 On review the latter have often been rated as avoidable,4 10for in this age group, once effective treatment is started it is unusual for death to occur 10…”