23rd February 2024

A 19 year old female is brought into the emergency department by ambulance.

A 19 year old female is brought into the emergency department by ambulance. She appears breathless and there is an audible wheeze. She is currently on 4 litres of oxygen via a non-re-breathable face mask. The paramedics report that the patient started to have difficulty breathing during an exercise class. She has a history of asthma, but her breathing was not really helped when she used her inhalers. She has no allergies but also takes medication for depression, 10mg of Citalopram PO once daily. Her observations are recorded below:

HR 110 BP 135/94 Temp 36.8 RR 29 O2 saturations 99% on 4 litres of O2

Your consultant asks you to prescribe a medication that will help improve her breathing acutely: