Respiratory disease
Case 4: An Asthmatic Patient with Dyspnoea and Wheeze
CASE
A 25‐year‐old male with long‐standing asthma is admitted with 2 days of dyspnoea and wheeze. He has been unable to sleep because of cough and wheeze and his inhalers have run out. On examination he appears dyspnoeic at rest, his respiratory rate is recorded as 28 breaths/min and oxygen saturations on air are 90%. There is reduced but equal expansion of the chest with audible wheeze. There is no evidence of a pneumothorax either clinically or on chest X‐ray. The patient is given a nebulizer and put on 60% oxygen. Arterial blood gases are taken as follows:
pH 7.53 PaO2 11 kPa PaCO2 3.5 kPa HCO3− 20 mmol/L SaO2 96%
QUESTION 1
Your score this session: 0 of 0
Which of the following does the patient have?