title: Response to corticosteroids in chronic bronchitis.
abstract: Corticosteroid drugs are often employed in the treatment of patients with chronic bronchitis. Although some patients respond favorably to such therapy, the characteristics of such patients are not known. Twenty-four patients with chronic bronchitis were treated with prednisone 30 mg daily or placebo for one week each in a double-blind crossover study. The following were monitored before and after each treatment period: physical examination, symptoms, peripheral blood eosinophil count, sputum cell exmination, forced vital capacity (FVC), before and after isoproterenol aerosol. Seven of 24 patients had an FEV1 increase greater than 30% of the control value on prednisone but not on placebo. Blood eosinophil count was elevated  (greater than or equal to 350/mm(3)) in 7 patients; 2 of these 7 improved on steroid. Sputum cell examination revealed preponderance of eosinophils in 1, and occasional clumps of eosinophils in 8. Seven of these 9 responded to steroid. Sputum but not blood eosinophilia is a good predictor of a favorable response to steroid therapy.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004804:Eosinophils; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D007545:Isoproterenol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013183:Sputum / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D007545:Isoproterenol; D011241:Prednisone