Sudden death in young persons with uncontrolled asthma--a nationwide cohort study in Denmark

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sudden death in young persons with uncontrolled asthma--a nationwide cohort study in Denmark

AU - Gullach, Anders Juul

AU - Risgaard, Bjarke

AU - Lynge, Thomas Hadberg

AU - Jabbari, Reza

AU - Glinge, Charlotte

AU - Haunsø, Stig

AU - Backer, Vibeke

AU - Winkel, Bo Gregers

AU - Tfelt-Hansen, Jacob

PY - 2015/4/14

Y1 - 2015/4/14

N2 - Background: Asthma is a common chronic disease among young adults, and several studies have reported increased mortality rates in patients with asthma. However, no study has described sudden unexpected death in a nationwide setting in patients with uncontrolled asthma. We defined uncontrolled asthma as a previous hospital admittance because of asthma (of any severity) or when asthma was considered to have influenced the death according to the death certificate. The purpose of this study is to increase the medical focus on young persons with uncontrolled asthma and thereby hopefully aid in preventing sudden unexpected deaths. We therefore aimed to describe clinical characteristics, symptoms, causes of death, and contact with the healthcare system prior to sudden unexpected death in young persons with uncontrolled asthma. Methods: Through the review of death certificates, we found 625 sudden unexpected death cases in individuals aged 1-35 years in Denmark from 2000 to 2006. Of those, 49 persons with uncontrolled asthma were identified. Results: We identified 49 individuals who suffered from uncontrolled asthma. This corresponds to an incidence rate of 0.32 per 100,000 person-years. The cause of death in 31 cases (63%) was sudden cardiac death, and in 13 cases (27%), it was a fatal asthma attack. Conclusion: The cause of death was predominantly sudden cardiac death followed by fatal asthma attack. We found that 41 (84%) of patients suffered from symptoms prior to death and that 28 (57%) sought medical advice from the emergency department and/or general practitioners.

AB - Background: Asthma is a common chronic disease among young adults, and several studies have reported increased mortality rates in patients with asthma. However, no study has described sudden unexpected death in a nationwide setting in patients with uncontrolled asthma. We defined uncontrolled asthma as a previous hospital admittance because of asthma (of any severity) or when asthma was considered to have influenced the death according to the death certificate. The purpose of this study is to increase the medical focus on young persons with uncontrolled asthma and thereby hopefully aid in preventing sudden unexpected deaths. We therefore aimed to describe clinical characteristics, symptoms, causes of death, and contact with the healthcare system prior to sudden unexpected death in young persons with uncontrolled asthma. Methods: Through the review of death certificates, we found 625 sudden unexpected death cases in individuals aged 1-35 years in Denmark from 2000 to 2006. Of those, 49 persons with uncontrolled asthma were identified. Results: We identified 49 individuals who suffered from uncontrolled asthma. This corresponds to an incidence rate of 0.32 per 100,000 person-years. The cause of death in 31 cases (63%) was sudden cardiac death, and in 13 cases (27%), it was a fatal asthma attack. Conclusion: The cause of death was predominantly sudden cardiac death followed by fatal asthma attack. We found that 41 (84%) of patients suffered from symptoms prior to death and that 28 (57%) sought medical advice from the emergency department and/or general practitioners.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Asthma

KW - Cause of Death

KW - Child

KW - Child, Preschool

KW - Death, Sudden, Cardiac

KW - Denmark

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Incidence

KW - Infant

KW - Male

KW - Registries

KW - Retrospective Studies

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1186/s12890-015-0033-z

DO - 10.1186/s12890-015-0033-z

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25887740

SN - 1471-2466

VL - 15

SP - 1

EP - 8

JO - B M C Pulmonary Medicine

JF - B M C Pulmonary Medicine

IS - 35

M1 - 35

ER -