EFFECT OF INHALED INDOMETHACIN ON EXERCISE-INDUCED BRONCHOCONSTRICTION IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA

We evaluated the effect of inhaled indomethacin, a nonsteroidal antiin flammatory drug (NSAID), on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in children with asthma. Nine asthmatic children (7 boys, 2 girls, wi th a mean +/- SEM age of 11.0 +/- 0.8 yr) with a history of EIB partic ipated in this study. These subjects were pretreated with inhaled indo methacin (3 mg/m(2) body surface area [BSA]) or placebo (0.9% saline) according to a double-blind, randomized, crossover design, and underwe nt an exercise challenge test 15 min after the pretreatment. inhaled i ndomethacin significantly attenuated EIB. The mean maximal percent dec rease in FEV(1) following exercise was 36.3 +/- 5.7% after placebo and 18.0 +/- 4.6% after indomethacin pretreatment (p = 0.0310). Indometha cin also significantly reduced the mean maximal decrease in arterial o xygen saturation after exercise (p = 0.0378). The inhibition of local prostaglandin synthesis and/or ion transport in the airways may be a m echanism involved in the protective potency of inhaled indomethacin.