Our strategies for fighting severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
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Nan Shan Zhong
Publications and source records attributed to Nan Shan Zhong.
SARS: ventilatory and intensive care.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an emerging infection caused by a novel coronavirus. It is characterised by a highly infectious syndrome of fever and respiratory symptoms, and is usually associated with bilateral lung infiltrates. The clinical syndrome of SARS often progresses to varying degrees of respiratory failure, with about 20% of patients requiring intensive care. Despite concern about potential aerosol generation, non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been reported to be efficacious in the treatment of SARS-related ARF without posing infection risks to health care workers (HCW). Spontaneous pneumomediastinum and pneumothorax in SARS is common. The incidence of NIV-associated barotrauma ranged from 6.6% to 15%. Patients who fail to tolerate NIV or fail NIV with progressive dyspnoea, tachypnoea and hypoxaemia should be intubated and mechanically ventilated. Mortality rates in intensive care units for SARS patients were high: 34-53% at 28 days, when some patients were still being ventilated. Strict adherence to infection control measures including isolation, use of appropriate personal protective equipment and negative pressure environment had been reported to eliminate cross-infection to HCW.
Critical Care↗
SARS: pharmacotherapy.
The pharmacotherapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is controversial and largely anecdotal. Most patients with suspected SARS should initially be treated with potent antibiotics before proceeding to 'anti-SARS' therapy. There is a spectrum of severity and rate of progression in SARS, and the stages of viral replication, inflammatory pneumonitis and residual pulmonary fibrosis are clinically non-distinct. Although now considered lacking in efficacy, ribavirin was used extensively in Hong Kong for treatment of SARS. Retrospective data suggest that the use of Kaletra (ritonavir and lopinavir), an anti-protease, could reduce mortality and improve outcomes, although the adverse reactions are also worrisome. Anecdotal experience strongly supports the use of steroid, at least in a subset of SARS patients, particularly with 'critical SARS' who display continued clinical instability or deterioration and progressive radiographic or HRCT deterioration. A retrospective study carried out of 72 probable SARS patients has shown that cases who received pulse methylprendisolone did not differ in cumulative steroid dosage or adverse reactions, although the former patients had less oxygen requirement, better radiographic outcome, and less likelihood of requiring rescue pulse steroid therapy than their counterparts. Nevertheless, lower dosage of steroid as initial therapy in SARS had also been associated with good clinical outcomes. Poor responders to initial therapy might benefit from rescue steroid therapy or intravenous Pentaglobin. Other drug treatments had also been tried in desperate patients, including the use of convalescence serum and plasmapheresis. Secondary infections could be troublesome, particular for patients with prolonged hospitalization and mechanical ventilation.
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Asthma control in the Asia-Pacific region: the Asthma Insights and Reality in Asia-Pacific Study.
BACKGROUND: Few data on asthma management are available for the Asia-Pacific region. OBJECTIVE: This study examined asthma symptoms, health care use, and management in the Asia-Pacific region. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional survey, followed by administration of a questionnaire in a face-to-face setting in the respondents' homes in their language of choice. Urban centers in 8 areas were surveyed: China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. RESULTS: A population sample of 3207 respondents with physician-diagnosed asthma was identified by screening 108,360 households. Daytime asthma symptoms were reported by 51.4% of respondents, and 44.3% reported sleep disturbance caused by asthma in the preceding 4 weeks. At least 2 in every 5 respondents (43.6%) had been hospitalized, attended a hospital emergency department, or made unscheduled emergency visits to other health care facilities for treatment of asthma during the previous 12 months. Overall, 15.3% of respondents reported that they had required admission to the hospital for asthma treatment. Asthma severity correlated with the frequencies of hospitalizations and emergency visits for asthma in the past year. Even in those patients with severe persistent asthma, 34.3% regarded their disease as being well or completely controlled. Current use of an inhaled corticosteroid was reported by only 13.6% of respondents, and 56.3% used quick-relief bronchodilators. Absence from school and work in the past year was reported by 36.5% of children and 26.5% of adults. CONCLUSION: As reported for other regions, current levels of asthma control in the Asia-Pacific region fall markedly short of goals specified in international guidelines for asthma management.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗