Doctorate Description: Asthma and diabetes are two of the most prevalent long-term conditions worldwide and although seemingly unrelated the commonality of shared comorbidities and potential predisposition for those patients suffering from one of these conditions to develop the other, brings with it intricacies that are often difficult to manage clinically. One such complexity is around how medications designed to benefit asthmatics could potentially cause changes in patients' blood glucose levels, resulting in a transient diabetic state that adversely affects the patient by worsening/prolonging their exacerbation.
This study seeks to ascertain how beta-2 agonists (salbutamol) used to manage asthma exacerbations in the ambulance setting affect blood glucose levels, and how any changes impact their ventilation (V) and cardiac output (Q).