Abstract
The usefulness of an ultrasonically nebulized distilled water (UNDW) challenge as a screening procedure was tested in an on-going epidemiologic study of asthma and bronchial reactivity. Sixty-six individuals underwent a methacholine challenge, an UNDW challenge, and were administered a standardized respiratory disease questionnaire. To perform the UNDW challenge, subjects inhaled increasing volumes of nebulized distilled water while breathing tidally. Thirty-eight asthmatics, two former asthmatics, 14 normal, and 12 allergic subjects, were included. Sixty-six percent of the asthmatics dropped 20% from their baseline FEV1, during the UNDW challenge. Only one allergic or normal subject had a similar drop. The Pearson's correlation coefficient between methacholine and UNDW challenges was 0.60. If positive, and UNDW seems to be highly specific in supporting a diagnosis of asthma, while methacholine challenges are more useful in verifying the presence of non-specific bronchial reactivity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 129-133 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Annals of Allergy |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - 1988 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy