• Chun-Min Kang, En-Ting Wu, Ching-Chia Wang, Frank Lu, Bor-Luen Chiang, and Ting-An Yen.
• The Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2020 Sep 1; 119 (9): 1415-1421.

ObjectiveTreatment of severe asthma exacerbation could be challenging, especially in the initial hours of acute attack when systemic corticosteroid is yet to take effect. In spite of using inhaled agents, the role of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), including Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP), had been addressed recently.MethodsWe reviewed 5-year experience in our hospital for records of patients who were admitted to pediatric intensive care unit because of severe asthma attack. The included admission records from 2012 to 2017 were grouped according to BiPAP use (Yes/No). Clinical parameters (heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), SpO2 and serum pCO2) at selected time intervals of treatment were collected for both groups and analyzed.ResultsWe included data of 46 admissions from 33 different patients (24 with BiPAP and 21 without BiPAP.) The BiPAP group had significantly higher initial RR as well as higher severity scores compared with the other group (p < 0.001). The RR improved significantly in the following time intervals in BiPAP group. There was no significant difference in HR between groups in any of the time intervals. The serum pCO2 levels decreased significantly after initiation of ventilation support in the BiPAP group, and SpO2 levels improved significantly for both groups.ConclusionBiPAP seemed efficient in improving respiratory rate and oxygenation in our study. It does not seem to cause additional irritation regarding that HR was not increased in BiPAP group compared with non-BiPAP group. Overall, BiPAP ventilation is safe and efficient in treating children with severe asthma attack.Copyright © 2019 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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