Intensive care implications of epidemic thunderstorm asthma.

Objective: To investigate the environmental precipitants, treatment and outcome of critically ill patients affected by the largest and most lethal reported epidemic of thunderstorm asthma.

Design, Setting And Participants: Retrospective multicentre observational study. Meteorological, airborne particulate and pollen data, and a case series of 35 patients admitted to 15 intensive care units (ICUs) due to the thunderstorm asthma event of 21-22 November 2016, in Victoria, Australia, were analysed and compared with 1062 total ICU-admitted Australian patients with asthma in 2016.

Main Outcome Measures: Characteristics and outcomes of total ICU versus patients with thunderstorm asthma, the association between airborne particulate counts and storm arrival, and ICU resource utilisation.

Results: All 35 patients had an asthma diagnosis; 13 (37%) had a cardiac or respiratory arrest, five (14%) died. Compared with total Australian ICU-admitted patients with asthma in 2016, patients with thunderstorm asthma had a higher mortality (15% 1.3%, < 0.001), were more likely to be male (63% 34%, < 0.001), to be mechanically ventilated, and had shorter ICU length of stay in survivors (median, 31.8 hours [interquartile range (IQR), 14.8-43.6 hours] 40.7 hours [IQR, 22.3-75.1 hours]; = 0.025). Patients with cardiac arrest were more likely to be born in Asian or subcontinental countries (5/10 [50%] 4/25 [16%]; relative risk, 3.13; 95% CI, 1.05-9.31). A temporal link was demonstrated between airborne particulate counts and arrival of the storm. The event used 15% of the public ICU beds in the region.

Conclusion: Arrival of a triggering storm is associated with an increase in respirable airborne particles. Affected critically ill patients are young, have a high mortality, a short duration of bronchospasm, and a prior diagnosis of asthma is common.