BioMed Research International

Research Article

Acute Asthma in the Pediatric Emergency Department: Infections Are the Main Triggers of Exacerbations

Table 1

Classification of asthma severity according to the guidelines of the Italian Society of Pediatrics [8]. Normal values for respiratory rate: <2 months: <60 apm; 2–12 months: <50 apm; 1–5 yrs: <40 apm; 6–9 years: <30 apm; 10–14 yrs: <20 apm. Normal values for heart rate: 0–12 months: <160 bpm; 1-2 yrs: <120 bpm; 2–8 yrs: <110 bpm. Not all signs are needed for defining the severity of an exacerbation. apm: acts per minute; bpm: beats per minute; PEF: peak expiratory flow; FEV₁: forced expiratory volume in the 1st second; SaO₂: arterial oxygen saturation; PaCO₂: partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood.


	Mild	Moderate	Severe	Life-threatening

Talk	Able to converse	Phrases	Words	None
Respiratory rate	Normal	Increased	Increased	Bradypnea/gasping
Colour	Normal	Pale	Pale/cyanosis	Cyanosis
Level of consciousness	Normal	Agitation	Agitation	Confusion/drowsiness
Wheezing	End of expiration	Expiration	Expiration/inspiration	Absent
Use of accessory muscles of respiration	Absent	Moderate	Remarkable	Paradoxical breathing
Heart rate	Normal	Increased	Increased	Increased/bradycardia
PEF-FEV₁ (% of predicted or personal best)	>80%	60–80%	<60%	Nonexecutable
SpO₂ (room air)	>95%	92–95%	<92%	<90%
PaCO₂ (mmHg)	<38	38–42	>42	>42