The role of chlorpromazine in the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic pulmonary emphysema.

It is often difficult to achieve adequate sedation without concomitant respiratory depression in patients with bronchial asthma and chronic pulmonary emphysema. The deleterious and occasionally fatal effects of morphine in these disease states are well known.14 This agent is a primary and continuous depressant of respiration even with doses too small to produce sleep or disturb consciousness.5 These doses diminish the normal nespinatory response to the inhalation of low concentrations of carbon dioxide. The harmful effect of morphine has been attributed in part to an increase in bronchomoton 23 Herschfus et a14 considered mepenidine to be a useful and safe drug in the treatment of acute asthma or of status asthmaticus. Pulmonary function improved in most of their cases. However, these authors warned against the use of repeated and increasing doses which might result in respiratory depression. Rason and Cnecraft stressed the frequency of mepenidine addiction acquired in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Barbiturates in small doses as well as morphine have been demonstrated to depress the effective alveolar ventilation and produce nespinatory acidosis in patients with chronic pulmonary emphysema.7 Recent reports relevant to the use of chlonpromazine (Thorazine) in bronchial asthma have been favorable.8 It was therefore decided to investigate the role of this agent in the treatment of bronchial asthma and pulmonary emphysema.