What are the symptoms of bronchial spasm? How to treat it?

Generally speaking, in life, when people suffer from bronchial spasm, it will often induce the onset of asthma. So, what are the symptoms of bronchial spasm? Please read the relevant description in this article.

What are the symptoms of bronchial spasm?

Commonly seen in respiratory diseases, mainly bronchitis and other diseases. Smoking triggers asthma, which is mainly determined by the various harmful ingredients contained in the smoke, such as tar, nicotine and hydrogen cyanide. Nicotine and other drugs can act on the autonomic nervous system, stimulate the vagus nerve and cause bronchospasm. Tar can cause hyperplasia and mutation of the bronchial mucosal epithelium. Hydrogen cyanide damages the bronchial mucosal epithelial cells and their cilia, causing increased mucus secretion by the bronchial mucosa and increased airway resistance. This weakens the lung's purification function and ciliary activity, and reflexively causes bronchospasm. Therefore, smoking can directly or indirectly cause bronchospasm, thereby inducing asthma.

Treatment of bronchial spasm:

1. Choice of anesthesia

Endotracheal intubation is the main cause of wheezing during anesthesia and is best avoided. It has been reported that 6.4% of asthmatic patients developed wheezing after general anesthesia intubation, while only 2% did so during non-intubated general anesthesia or regional anesthesia. Therefore, regional anesthesia is still appropriate for patients with active reactions. A study of parturients with asthma showed no difference between high epidural anesthesia (T2-T4) and general anesthesia with ketamine/isoflurane. Two surveys in Japan showed that the incidence of asthma under epidural anesthesia was significantly lower than that under general anesthesia.

2. Drug Use

Thiopental rarely causes bronchospasm, but when used alone, endotracheal intubation often induces bronchospasm due to light anesthesia. Ketamine relaxes smooth muscle through neural mechanisms and the release of catecholamines. Before intubation, 1-3 mg of topical lidocaine 1.5/kg can effectively prevent reflex bronchoconstriction, but direct spraying into the throat can induce airway response and should be avoided. When asthmatic patients were treated with 2.5 mg/kg propofol, the incidence of wheezing after intubation was significantly lower than that with thiopental sodium. After induction intubation with propofol, respiratory resistance was also significantly lower than that with thiopental and etomidate.