[Histamine concentration in the arterial and venous blood, plasma and basophile leucocytes on patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis and on healthy persons ].

Patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis (non atopics) show significant increased histamine concentrations in the plasma. In these patients the histamine concentration in the whole blood was also higher. The histamine concentration in the blood reflect primarily the concentration of basophiles. In individual patients very high plasma and whole blood histamine concentrations were found. The concentration of histamine in the venous plasma was about 2/3 of this of the arterial plasma. No difference in basophile histamine concentration was observed between patients and controls. The histamine concentrations in the plasma reflect primarily the high local histamine concentration in the bronchial mucosa. The plasma histamine concentration itself does not act as direct bronchoconstrictor. The histamine dependent bronchoconstriction is believed to be mostly reflex bronchoconstriction by challenge locally the sensoric receptors in the bronchial mucosa.