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Previous Volume 356:2083-2091 May 17, 2007 Number 20 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Presentation of Case

A 20-year-old woman with asthma was taken to the emergency room of another hospital because of cardiorespiratory arrest. The patient had had severe asthma since childhood. She was born after a normal pregnancy and delivery to a teenaged, single mother, who smoked three packs of cigarettes per day during pregnancy and during the patient's childhood. Asthma developed at the age of 4 years, and exacerbations occurred frequently thereafter, triggered by cold air, hot humid air, physical activity, respiratory infections, anxiety, and exposures to paint and to cats and birds that were kept in her home or the homes of relatives. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Differential Diagnosis

Discussion of Management

Managing Severe Asthma

            Adherence to Controller Therapy and Appropriate Technique

            Consistent Physician Care

            Education and Warning Signs

            Other Medical Options

Factors Contributing to Poor Outcomes despite Optimal Medication Regimens

Pharmacogenetics and the Efficacy of Asthma Therapies

Use of Biomarkers in Asthma Control

Dr. Michael E. Wechsler's Diagnosis

Pathological Discussion

Anatomical Diagnosis

Source Information

From the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital (M.E.W.); the Departments of Radiology (J.-A.O.S.) and Pathology (E.J.M.), Massachusetts General Hospital; and the Departments of Medicine (M.E.W.), Radiology (J.-A.O.S.), and Pathology (E.J.M.), Harvard Medical School — all in Boston.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Simpson, J. A., Brunt, K. R., Collier, C. P., Iscoe, S. (2009). Hyperinflation-induced cardiorespiratory failure in rats. J. Appl. Physiol. 107: 275-282 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lisboa, T., de Mendoza, D., Rello, J., Miller, W. T., Wechsler, M. E., Shepard, J.-A. O. (2007). Case 15-2007: A Woman with Asthma and Cardiorespiratory Arrest. NEJM 357: 420-421 [Full Text]