MUCUS HYPERSECRETION AND EOSINOPHILS IN BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH BRONCHIAL-ASTHMA

Mucus hypersecretion was clinically analyzed in 46 adult patients with bronchial asthma, including 22 with steroid-dependent intractable ast hma (SDIA). A large amount of expectoration, over 50 ml/day, was obser ved in 16 of these patients (34.8%), of whom 12 (75.0%) had SDIA and 1 3 (81.3%) were women. The mean amount of expectoration increased with increasing patient age, although no significant difference was found a mong the six age groups. A large amount of expectoration (over 50 ml/d ay) was clearly correlated with an increased proportion of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. The proportion of BAL eosinoph ils was significantly higher in patients with expectoration between 50 and 99 ml/day (p < 0.05) and over 100 ml/day (p < 0.01) than in patie nts whose expectoration volume was between 30 and 49 ml/day. These res ults show that in bronchial asthma patients, mucus hypersecretion is m ore often observed clinically in those with SDIA and in women, and tha t this hypersecretion is closely correlated with BAL eosinophilia, whi ch is a feature of the pathophysiological changes that occur in the ai rways of these patients.