[Respiratory infection in patients with bronchial asthma. Clinicolaboratory characteristics].

AIM

To study clinicolaboratory signs of respiratory infection in patients with bronchial asthma (BA).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Respiratory infection and its influence on BA were studied in 108 BA patients (66 female and 42 male, mean age 51.0 +/- 15.2 years) with symptoms of bronchitis and non-nosocomial (n = 71) and nosocomial (n = 37) pneumonia. The patients referred for medical care and started antibacterial therapy (ABT) after 4.7 +/- 2.8 days of respiratory infection (RI). Before assignment to the trial BA exacerbation ran for 9.8 +/- 6.0 days.

RESULTS

RI preceded BA exacerbation in 62% patients with pneumonia. BA exacerbation preceded RI in 66% patients with bronchitis. RI ran with moderate and severe intoxication. Severity of BA exacerbation correlated with severity of RI Antibacterial treatment was uneffective and the drugs were changed for others in 18% bronchitis and 16% pneumonia patients. Laboratory signs of inflammation were more obvious in pneumonias than in bronchitis and did not depend on the disease severity. External respiration function at RI onset was significantly affected in all the patients.

CONCLUSION

Respiratory infections aggravate the course of BA and damage external respiration function.