ERJ
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Salome, C.
Right arrow Articles by Peat, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Salome, C.
Right arrow Articles by Peat, J.
Eur Respir J 1997; 10: 1052-1058
Copyright © ERS Journals Ltd 1997

Original Articles

Perception of airway narrowing in a general population sample

CM Salome, W Xuan, EJ Gray, E Belooussova, and JK Peat

In epidemiological studies, defining asthma as the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) plus recent symptoms leaves two groups of subjects whose clinical significance is unclear: those with asymptomatic AHR, and those with symptoms only. The aim of the study was to determine whether subjects with symptoms only differ from the normal and asthmatic groups in the perception of airway obstruction. Six hundred and ninety seven adults completed a questionnaire of symptoms and underwent bronchial challenge with histamine to induce airway obstruction. Recent symptoms included wheeze and morning chest tightness in the last 12 months. AHR was defined as a provoking dose of histamine causing > or = 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (PD20FEV1) <3.9 micromol. At the end of the challenge test, subjects who felt wheezy or tight in the chest marked a value from 0 to 10 on a modified Borg scale, to describe the severity of the sensation. Subjects with asymptomatic AHR did not differ significantly from subjects with AHR plus recent symptoms (current asthma) either in the mean fall in FEV1 or in the median Borg score. In subjects with symptoms only, the mean Borg score was not significantly different from that of the asthmatic subjects, although mean fall in FEV1 differed significantly (p<0.0001). In subjects with symptoms only, chest tightness correlated significantly with the fall in forced vital capacity (FVC) (p= 0.011), but not with the fall in FEV1. Subjects with asymptomatic airways hyperresponsiveness were not poor perceivers of airway narrowing, but may underreport their symptoms. Subjects with symptoms only may have enhanced perception of small changes in lung function, particularly in forced vital capacity.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ChestHome page
M. J. Alvarez Puebla, R. Castillo, A. Rey, N. Ortega, C. Blanco, and T. Carrillo
Sputum Eosinophilia and Maximal Airway Narrowing in Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus Allergic Rhinitis Patients: Only Rhinitis or Rhinitis Plus Mild Asthma?
Chest, November 1, 2002; 122(5): 1560 - 1565.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eur Respir JHome page
L.M. van den Toorn, S.E. Overbeek, J-B. Prins, H.C. Hoogsteden, and J.C. De Jongste
Dyspnoea perception during clinical remission of atopic asthma
Eur. Respir. J., June 1, 2002; 19(6): 1047 - 1050.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
R. Crapo
Guidelines for Methacholine and Exercise Challenge Testing---1999 . THIS OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY WAS ADOPTED BY THE ATS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, JULY 1999
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., January 1, 2000; 161(1): 309 - 329.
[Full Text]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1997 by the European Respiratory Society.