The effect of a bronchodilator aerosol on ventilatory capacity in fibrocystic disease of the pancreas.

Wheezing is a relatively common symptom or sign in patients with fibrocystic disease of the pancreas and the obstructive nature of their breathing is frequently obvious. Nevertheless, bronchodilator therapy is often not dramatic in its effect and its role has not been clearly defined despite the increasing use of aerosol therapy for the pulmonary aspects of this disease. The aerosol usually contains several constituents, including a bronchodilator drug. As yet no objective evidence has been provided as to the efficacy of the combined therapy or of any individual component. Modern single-breath tests of ventilatory capacity, which are readily applicable to children, afford accurate and sensitive indices of response to bronchodilator drugs. We have therefore studied the ventilatory capacity of 16 patients immediately before and after a potent bronchodilator aerosol, our aim being to assess the proportion of potentially reversible bronchoconstriction.