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Glite Dictionary
status asthmaticus

status asthmaticus

6.7
A severe asthma attack that does not get better with usual treatment and may be life-threatening
  • noun
  • /ˈsteɪtəs ˌæsməˈtɪkəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : status asmático
  • During the emergency, the patient experienced status asthmaticus, requiring immediate medical intervention.

Examples

  • "The attending doctor, Michael Cooper, gave a diagnosis of status asthmaticus leading to death," Randolph said.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The critical condition of status asthmaticus left the doctors with few treatment options available.

  • After struggling for hours, the child's status asthmaticus prompted a rapid response from the medical team.

How Severe

status asthmaticus
  • Specialized
6.7
asthma
136 3.0

Surface Forms

status asthmaticus singular

Morphology

status + asthmaticus

The element 'status' (state/condition) together with the asthma-related form 'asthmaticus' would allow a learner to infer generally that this refers to an asthma-related condition, so part of the meaning is compositional. However, 'status asthmaticus' is a Latin medical technical term whose critical properties (prolonged, severe, treatment-resistant, potentially life-threatening attack) are specialized and not predictable from the constituents alone, making the phrase only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Status asthmaticus comes from Latin: status means 'state' and asthmaticus means 'asthma'. It describes a long, severe asthma attack that does not get better with usual treatment.