Bronchoprovocation Testing

Abstract

Airway smooth muscles of asthmatics tend to be hyperresponsive when provoked. The exaggerated bronchial constriction can be measured by the airflow limitation seen following bronchial provocation. Measuring bronchial hyperresponsiveness by broncho provocation testing is helpful in diagnosing and optimizing therapy. While numerous agents have been used to provoke a measurable airflow limitation, standardized protocols are available for only a few. This article aims to discuss the various methods that have been reported for bronchoprovocation testing.

Tolerability of inhaled N-chlorotaurine in humans: a double-blind randomized phase I clinical study

“…Persons with a hyperreactive bronchial system, who experience a decrease in FEV 1 of >20% or an increase of the bronchial effective resistance of >0.6 upon inhalation per se, were excluded from the study. Therefore, all test persons were subjected to a lung function test and pulse oximetry at first, followed by inhalation of 0.9% saline, followed by 15 µg, 45 µg, 180 µg and 720 µg methacholine in series, which is the standard test for airway hyperresponsiveness (for details see 24 – 26 ). After each of these inhalations, the lung function was checked.…”

Novel Challenges for the Allergist

“…First, new molecular tools, as in the case of proteomics for immune-mediated diseases [26], apply to food allergy [27,28] and are expected to improve food allergy diagnosis, therapy, and allergenic risk assessment, but the high current costs do not allow a routine use of high-specificity methods towards personalized medicine [29]. Second, the availability of sensitive laboratory methods has significantly modified our approach to asthma [30][31][32], as in the case of exhaled carbon monoxide in the meta-analysis by Shaoquin et al [33]. Third, significant developments have been obtained from the study of epigenetics in determining the susceptibility to immunological disorders [34][35][36].…”