A double-blind controlled trial of elemental diet in severe, perennial asthma.

In a double-blind controlled trial 41 hospitalized adults with severe, perennial asthma of unknown aetiology were allocated to either an antigen-free elemental diet (Vivasorb) or control diet, i.e. blended ordinary hospital food, for 2 weeks. At the time of entry into the trial all patients were in an active but stable phase of the disease. Medical treatment was given throughout the study as clinically indicated. Peak expiratory flow was measured hourly during the daytime and patients noted their symptoms daily on an assessment form. Validation of variables according to a scoring system indicated that the elemental diet resulted in an improvement of the patients asthma (p less than 0.05). It is concluded that elemental diet may serve as a diagnostic tool for disclosing alimentary intolerance in patients with perennial asthma.