Management of severe asthma exacerbation: guidelines from the Societe Francaise de Medecine d'Urgence, the Societe de Reanimation de Langue Francaise and the French Group for Pediatric Intensive Care and Emergencies

Background: The French Emergency Medicine Society, the French Intensive Care Society and the Pediatric Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine French-Speaking Group edited guidelines on severe asthma exacerbation (SAE) in adult and pediatric patients. Results: The guidelines were related to 5 areas: diagnosis, pharmacological treatment, oxygen therapy and ventilation, patients triage, specific considerations regarding pregnant women. The literature analysis and formulation of the guidelines were conducted according to the Grade of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology. An extensive literature research was conducted based on publications indexed in PubMedT and CochraneT databases. Of the 21 formalized guidelines, 4 had a high level of evidence (GRADE 1+/-) and 7 a low level of evidence (GRADE 2+/-). The GRADE method was inapplicable to 10 guidelines, which resulted in expert opinions. A strong agreement was reached for all guidelines. Conclusion: The conjunct work of 36 experts from 3 scientific societies resulted in 21 formalized recommendations to help improving the emergency and intensive care management of adult and pediatric patients with SAE.