BRONCHIAL HYPER-REACTIVITY IN TOBACCO SMOKERS
Dr. Sudipto Dasgupta*, Dr. Nagsen Ramraje, Dr. Rohit Hegde, Dr. Priti Meshram
ABSTRACT
Bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) is defined as excessive narrowing of the airways to various inhaled
stimuli. It is commonly but not exclusively, seen in asthmatics. There is evidence which shows that the prevalence
of BHR is higher in smokers, compared to the normal population. This may be an indicator of airway
inflammation in the subjects. Relationship between smoking and development of chronic airflow limitation has
been established. But all smokers do not develop chronic airflow limitation. The reason behind this observation
remains unknown. The smokers with BHR may be at a higher risk of progression to COPD. We enrolled 50
asymptomatic smokers in the study. These patients were subjected to Bronchial challenge using graded dilutions
of histamine. We found that as the Pack Years smoked increased, there was a statistically significant increase in
the frequency of patients with positive Bronchial Challenge Test. Also, the number of smokers with a positive test
at a given concentration of Histamine, increased as the Pack Years smoked increased, though not found to be
statistically significant. Smoking and BHR were dose-dependently associated.
Keywords: Bronchial Hyper-reactivity, Bronchial Challenge Test, Smoking, COPD.
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