Characterization of airway plugging in fatal asthma
PURPOSE: Case reports suggest that deaths due to asthma can occur without airway
plugging. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that obstruction of the airway lumen by
an exudate containing mucus and cells is a key feature of fatal asthma attacks. METHODS:
We quantified airway narrowing and lumenal content in 275 airways from 93 patients with
fatal asthma aged 10 to 49 years (59 white subjects and 34 Polynesian subjects, including
19 children), compared with airways from control patients who died suddenly without …
plugging. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that obstruction of the airway lumen by
an exudate containing mucus and cells is a key feature of fatal asthma attacks. METHODS:
We quantified airway narrowing and lumenal content in 275 airways from 93 patients with
fatal asthma aged 10 to 49 years (59 white subjects and 34 Polynesian subjects, including
19 children), compared with airways from control patients who died suddenly without …