COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS ON BRONCHIAL HYPERRESPONSIVENESS OF ANTIALLERGIC AGENTS AND BECLOMETHASONE DIPROPIONATE IN LONG-TERM BRONCHIAL-ASTHMA - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY
K. Hoshino et al., COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS ON BRONCHIAL HYPERRESPONSIVENESS OF ANTIALLERGIC AGENTS AND BECLOMETHASONE DIPROPIONATE IN LONG-TERM BRONCHIAL-ASTHMA - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY, Allergy, 48(3), 1993, pp. 196-201
The effect of antiallergic agents (DSCG (disodium cromoglycate), ketot
ifen, and ibudilast) and beclomethasone dipropionate inhaler (BDI) on
bronchial hyperresponsiveness to histamine inhalation was retrospectiv
ely assessed in 72 asthmatic patients with more than a year's duration
of the disease. Decrease in bronchial hyperresponsiveness to histamin
e was observed in 10 out of the 33 (30%) antiallergic-agents-treated p
atients (group A, mean duration = 7.8 months), in 12 of 19 (63.2%) BDI
-treated patients (group B, 6.2 months), but only 2 of the 20 (10%) co
ntrol patients (group C, 7.8 months). Improvement of histamine PC20 wa
s from 310 to 597 mug/ml (P<0.01) in group A, from 308 to 1622 mug/ml
(P<0.0005) in group B, and from 575 to 525 mug/ml (NS) in group C. A s
ignificant decrease in the peripheral eosinophil count was observed on
ly in group B. The improvement in bronchial hyperresponsiveness was pa
rallel with that of asthmatic symptoms; the percentage of patients bec
oming symptom-free rose from 12 to 42%, 5 to 89%, and 5 to 20% in grou
ps A, B, and C, respectively. Out of 11 unimproved patients in group A
, 7 showed a significant improvement in their histamine PC2, by BDI tr
eatment (mean PC20: 311-->1828 mug/ml). These results suggest that BDI
might be more effective than antiallergic agents in the treatment of
patients with long-standing bronchial asthma.