Pulsus Paradoxus in Acute Asthma in Children

Abstract

One hundred children suffering from acute asthma were studied. Both pulsus paradoxus (PP) and CO₂ pressure (PCO₂) of the arterialized blood sample were measured in each child. The correlation between the PP and the PCO₂ was not statistically significant when the latter was less than 35 mmHg (p < 0.05). When the PCO₂ was equal or higher than 35 mmHg, a directly proportional as well as statistically significant relationship with PP was found (p < 0.00001). PP is proposed as an indirect indicator of the PCO₂ on patients suffering from acute asthma, when the necessary equipment to measure the PCO₂ is not available.