NCT02347462.

Trial name or title	BiPAP for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Acute Asthma Exacerbations
Methods	Randomised clinical trial
Participants	2 to 18 years old Admitted to BC Children's Hospital with a clinical diagnosis of an acute asthma exacerbation PRAM score > 3 after initial treatment with 3 rounds of inhaled salbutamol and ipratropium bromide, and 1 dose of systemic steroid Parents willing and able to sign consent Children over the age of 6 willing to provide assent
Interventions	Children in the intervention group will receive BiPAP (Trilogy, Philips Respironics; spontaneous trigger mode) via nasal mask or full facemask. EPAP will be set at 5 cm H2O. IPAP will be titrated to achieve a tidal volume of 6 to 9 mL/kg. These settings will remain unchanged throughout the study period.
Outcomes	Primary outcome measure PRAM Secondary outcome measures Intubation and complication rates Hospital re‐admission Inhaled bronchodilator utilisation Intravenous bronchodilator utilisation Comparison of total number of hours of intravenous bronchodilator infusion received by children in each arm Length of hospital stay
Starting date	April 2015
Contact information	mseear@cw.bc.ca
Notes

BiPAP: bilateral positive airway pressure.

ED: emergency department.

EPAP: end‐expiratory positive airway pressure.

IPAP: inspiratory positive airway pressure.

NPPV: non‐positive pressure ventilation.

PCP: primary care physician

PRAM: Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure.