The contribution of histamine release to bronchoconstriction provoked by inhaled benzalkonium chloride in asthma.

1. To investigate the possibility that benzalkonium chloride-induced bronchoconstriction results from the endogenous release of histamine, we examined the effect of the selective histamine antagonists terfenadine and astemizole, on the airways response to inhaled benzalkonium chloride and histamine in 12 asthmatic subjects. 2. Double-blind concentration- and time-course studies were undertaken, 3 h after treatment with terfenadine or matched placebo. 3. Benzalkonium chloride and histamine caused concentration-related falls in FEV1 in all subjects with benzalkonium chloride being 7.4 times less potent as a bronchoconstrictor agonist than histamine. Terfenadine displaced to the right the benzalkonium chloride and histamine concentration-response curves by 3.7 and 111 fold respectively. Terfenadine attenuated the initial (5 min) bronchoconstrictor response to benzalkonium chloride by 40%. However, over the whole 45 min period, the response was reduced by only 13% compared with 86% inhibition of the response to histamine. 4. In an open study, eight of the 12 subjects undertook a time course study with inhaled benzalkonium chloride after pretreatment with the chemically unrelated histamine antagonist astemizole. Astemizole inhibited benzalkonium chloride-induced bronchoconstriction to an almost identical degree as that achieved with terfenadine. 5. We conclude that the initial bronchoconstrictor effect of benzalkonium chloride is due, in part, to histamine release. However, the majority of the adverse effect relates to other, as yet unrecognised effects of this bacteriocidal substance.