[Inhalation corticosteroid therapy and nonspecific bronchial responsiveness enhanced with salbutamol].

UNLABELLED

In atopic asthmatics we have found, that 2 weeks of regular inhalative salbutamol monotherapy (200 mcg/qid) enhances BHR to histamine. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of this kind of ST on BHR in asthmatics under concomitant treatment with inhalative corticosteroids. We studied three group of patients: group 1--nonsymptomatic untreated asthmatics (n = 7); group 2--asthmatics under 2.42 +/- 1.3 years of continuous therapy with beclomethasone dipropionate (bdp, n = 8); group 3--in which bdp (200 mcg bid) was started at the same time as ST (n = 6). Spirometry and BHR challenge with histamine were performed before and after 2 weeks of ST. During the study the patients registered their PEF-values and asthma symptoms.

RESULTS

1. we observed any effect of ST on symptoms score, PEF--variability or spirometry values in none of the groups, 2) in the group 1 ST increases BHR (PC20H from 0.939 +/- 0.577 to 0.387 +/- 0.337; Wilcoxon p < 0.025; 3) ST evoked no significant change in BHR in the groups 2 and 3.