Acute effects of inhaled isoproterenol on the mechanical characteristics of the lungs in normal man.

We investigated the effects of isoproterenol on the pulmonary mechanics of eight healthy male subjects. We measured the flow-volume, pressure-volume, resistance-volume, and pressure-flow relationships of the lungs of our subjects in addition to the forced expiratory volume (FEV(1)). The results of this study confirm earlier observations that isoproterenol produces a considerable decrease in airway resistance but only small changes in maximum expiratory flow. Measurements of static pressure-volume curves showed that isoproterenol caused a temporary decrease in the elastic recoil pressure of the lungs. In five men there were mean falls in recoil pressure of 4.1 cm H(2)O at 85% total lung capacity (TLC), 2.6 cm H(2)O at 75% TLC, and 1.5 cm H(2)O at 50% TLC. We postulate that the reason for the relatively small increments in maximum expiratory flow after isoproterenol is primarily that the effects of airway dilatation are in large part negated by the reduction in lung recoil pressure, which results in a fall in the maximum effective driving force for expiratory air flow, and secondly that there is an increase in the compliance of the flow-limiting airways. These studies emphasize that tests of maximum flow and of airway resistance should not be regarded as invariably interchangeable in the assessment of airway reactions or mild disease of the airways.