[World Asthma Day] Taking aspirin to induce asthma is almost fatal? ! Be careful!

May 7th this year is the 26th World Asthma Day, and the theme of this year focuses on "Strengthening Asthma Education". On such a special day, Director Wang Hui of the Department of Geriatrics shared with us a case of a nearly fatal asthma caused by taking aspirin .

This is to remind everyone that asthma patients must be careful when taking medication! [After taking aspirin, he had an asthma attack and lost consciousness]

That morning, 42-year-old Mr. Zhang (pseudonym) felt feverish and had a headache, so he took two tablets of "Zhengtong Tablets" (compound aspirin) at home. Unexpectedly, less than 20 minutes after swallowing the tablets, Mr. Zhang felt difficulty breathing . He was still conscious at this time. Since he could not drive, Mr. Zhang struggled to call 120 and described the drugs he took and his symptoms. It took only half a minute for the emergency personnel to arrive at the scene, and Mr. Zhang completely lost consciousness. The emergency personnel immediately carried out preliminary rescue.

After being out of danger, Mr. Zhang was hospitalized for treatment in our hospital. Three days later, Mr. Zhang recovered well and was discharged from the hospital.

[ “Aspirin asthma” is not just a simple “allergy” ]

"Mr. Zhang suffers from bronchial asthma, and this attack was 'aspirin asthma'. It should be noted that its clinical manifestations are a bit like rapid-onset allergic reactions, which we often call 'allergies'; but research to date has shown that the drugs that induce aspirin asthma are all prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors, so most scholars believe that the essence of aspirin asthma is not drug allergy, but intolerance to these drugs. To put it simply, it is the increase in leukotrienes that cause airway inflammation in the body that induces asthma ; a grandfather admitted to the outpatient clinic this morning also had the same condition." This is how Director Wang analyzed the patient's condition.

"For this type of disease, nearly 40% of acute attacks are potentially life-threatening. This time, it was precisely because he did not know how to drive that 'saved Mr. Zhang.' If he had driven himself without pre-hospital emergency measures, the consequences would have been disastrous." [ What are the symptoms of "aspirin asthma" ]

Within a few minutes to two hours of taking aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, patients will experience rapidly progressive symptoms of bronchial obstruction, such as nasal congestion, watery nasal discharge , and shortness of breath, often accompanied by cyanosis, conjunctival congestion, profuse sweating, inability to lie flat, and irritability. Some patients may experience a drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and even shock and death.

In addition to suffering from bronchial asthma, such patients often also have nasal polyps and aspirin intolerance , which we call the **"aspirin triad"**.

Who should be extra vigilant ?

1. 1. Middle-aged and elderly patients with respiratory diseases, such as those in the acute stage of COPD and those with a history of asthma. 2. Patients with nasal diseases such as chronic rhinitis, nasal polyps, and sinusitis. 3. Those with highly allergic constitutions. [ Learning the following can save lives ]

1. If aspirin-induced asthma occurs, stop taking the suspected medication immediately, call 120, and go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.

2. Avoid re-use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

3. Asthma patients who must take aspirin may consider aspirin desensitization therapy.

Just after the beginning of summer, acute attacks of asthma patients have entered a peak period. In addition to rational medication and active treatment, asthma patients also need to pay attention to daily standardized management to avoid worsening of the disease or the occurrence of comorbidities in the future.