BACKGROUND Spirometry is a physiologic test that measures the volume of air an individual inhales or exhales and the rate at which the volume is changed as a function of time. Bronchodilator response, as a beneficial test for diagnosis of bronchial responsiveness is measured using the percent change from baseline and absolute changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second and/or forced vital c...

OBJECTIVE Determine if World Trade Center (WTC) disaster responders had lower lung function and higher bronchodilator responsiveness than those with respiratory symptoms and conditions. METHODS We evaluated cardinal respiratory symptoms (dyspnea, wheezing, dry cough, productive cough) and determined the difference in FEV1, FVC, and bronchodilator responsiveness. RESULTS All respiratory symp...

The bronchodilator and cardiac effects produced by aerosols of 0.5% isoprenaline and of 0.25, 0.5, and 1% salbutamol administered in 40% oxygen by intermittent positive-pressure ventilation were compared in 24 asthmatic patients. Isoprenaline and salbutamol in concentrations of 0.5% were equipotent in peak bronchodilator effect; salbutamol was superior in total bronchodilator effect and duratio...

: Anticholinergics, or specific antimuscarinic agents, by inhibition of muscarinic receptors cause bronchodilatation, which might correlate with activation of these receptors by the muscarinic agonist methacholine. The aim of this study was to determine whether a positive bronchodilator response to the anticholinergic ipratropium bromide could predict airway hyperresponsiveness in patients with...

BACKGROUND Among patients with obstructive lung disease, the correlation between clinical improvement and bronchodilator response is poor. Forced expiratory time (FET) may explain some discrepancy, but FET has received little attention. METHODS We analyzed change in FET during the 3 initial satisfactory flow-volume loops in 102 consecutive patients, 37 with normal spirometry and 65 with airfl...

Categorization of patients with COPD as reversible or nonreversible to a bronchodilator may change over time. This post hoc analysis aimed to determine if an individual's reversibility, when treated as a continuous variable, could predict his/her future response to two short-acting bronchodilators: albuterol and ipratropium. The analysis was completed using data from a 4-week, randomized, open-...

BACKGROUND A simple method for effective bronchodilator aerosol delivery while administering continuing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) would be useful in patients with severe bronchial obstruction. OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of bronchodilator aerosol delivery during CPAP generated by the Boussignac CPAP system and its optimal humidification system. METHODS First we a...

Increased importance is now being placed on evaluating dyspnea in patients with obstructive lung disease (OLD). We measured breathlessness at rest, using a Borg scale dyspnea index (BSDI) before and after bronchodilator albuterol [salbutamol] 200 micrograms) in 93 patients with OLD drawn from a larger population undergoing routine spirometry. The median BSDI declined from 3 to 1 before and afte...