Complications of Asthma
Complications of Asthma
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In rare cases, asthma can lead to a number of serious respiratory complications, including:
pneumonia (infection of the lung tissue)
a collapse of part or all of the lung (pneumothorax)
respiratory failure, where the levels of oxygen in the blood become dangerously low, or the levels of carbon dioxide become dangerously high
status asthmaticus – severe asthma attacks that do not respond to treatment
rib fractures – from severe coughing associated with asthma
All of these complications can be life-threatening and will need urgent medical treatment.
What is a pneumothorax?
What is a pneumothorax?
‘Pneumo’ means air (as in pneumatic) and ‘thorax’ means chest, so pneumothorax simply means ‘air in the chest’. However it is not air in the normal anatomy of the air passages, but air in the pleural cavity.
As result of underlying disease in the lung or injury such as stab wound or a gunshot wound, air enters the pleural cavity from either the lung or through a hole in the chest wall. Each time the casualty breathes in, air enters this cavity.
As air accumulates within the pleural cavity, the lung underneath collapses.
A severe asthma attack is a risk factor for developing a pneumothorax.
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