Fatal asthma

Despite advances in knowledge about the pathophysiology of asthma and the availability of many effective therapeutic agents, death rates from asthma are increasing in several countries. Some recommendations have been proposed to prevent asthma death. Patients should receive adequate instructions about the severity of their disease, the precipitating factors, the optimal therapy, and especially the symptoms requiring medical help. Doctors should be able to identify those asthmatics subjects who are at higher risk, and follow a specific plan of action for them. In this article, we provide a review of the recent literature on fatal asthma to draw the attention of the medical community and of the specialists on this important issue.