Isocyanate is the most prevalent agent in occupational asthma(OA) in Korea. We analyzed 43 toluene diisocyanate(TDI) induced OA patients of whom 81% were found to be spray painters. The bronchial sensitivity of all subjects was confirmed by TDI-bronchial challenge test. Serum-specific IgE antibodies to isocyanate-human serum albumin(HSA) conjugate were detected by RAST technique(Pharmacia, Swed...

We report a case of occupational asthma caused by cobalt associated with systemic symptoms. He was a non-atopic, ex-smoker and had worked in a glassware factory for 14 months. A skin prick test with CoSO4 up to 100 mg/ml showed a negative result. A bronchoprovocation test with CoSO4 demonstrated an isolated asthmatic response with systemic symptoms such as fever, arthralgia and myalgia. Althoug...

BACKGROUND Methacholine challenge is commonly used within the asthma diagnostic algorithm. Methacholine challenge has recently been shown to induce airway remodelling in asthma via bronchoconstriction, without additional airway inflammation. We evaluated the effect of methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction on the peripheral whole-blood transcriptome. METHODS Fourteen males with adult-onset,...

OBJECTIVE A long-standing hypothesis is that a low ratio of airway caliber to lung size is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). The aim of our study was to measure the association between airway caliber relative to lung size (expressed as the ratio between forced expiratory flow, midexpiratory phase, divided by forced vital capacity [FEF(25%-75%)/FVC]) and BHR measured by a meth...

Methacholine (MCh) challenge testing is often incorporated into clinical studies prior to performing bronchoscopy as a measure of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). However, the effect of methacholine on many aspects of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid cell count and function have not been fully evaluated. Ten patients with asthma, maintained on inhaled beta 2-agonists, were studied. Each s...

BACKGROUND Induced sputum and methacholine inhalation challenge are routinely used for the assessment of airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness, respectively. This study investigates whether a methacholine challenge performed one hour before sputum induction alters the cellular and biochemical constituents of sputum. METHODS Sixteen stable asthmatic patients with lung function wit...

BACKGROUND Within a study on respiratory symptoms in rural areas, we used the European Community Respiratory Health Survey methacholine challenge protocol. For quicker and more reliable handling, we had to change the nebulizer in the bronchial challenge system from Mefar model MB3 (Bovezzo, Italy) to Jaeger APS Sidestream (similar to Mefar; Würzburg, Germany). Therefore, we compared the physica...

BACKGROUND It can be difficult to assess bronchial responsiveness in children because of their inability to perform spirometric tests reliably. In bronchial challenges lung sounds could be used to detect the required 20% fall in the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). A study was undertaken to determine whether a change in lung sounds corresponded with a 20% fall in FEV1 after methac...