Effect of ethanol on airway caliber and nonspecific bronchial responsiveness in patients with alcohol-induced asthma.
No study has investigated the effects of ethanol on bronchial responsiveness in patients with alcohol-induced asthma, although acetaldehyde, which is a metabolite of ethanol and is thought to be a main factor in alcohol-induced asthma, causes both bronchoconstriction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct action of ethanol on the airway in patients with alcohol-induced asthma. First, we investigated the bronchial response to inhalation of ascending doses (5, 10, and 20%) of ethanol in nine patients with alcohol-induced asthma. Then, the bronchial responsiveness to methacholine was measured in 14 patients who were pretreated with saline or 20% ethanol in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover fashion. Ascending doses of inhaled ethanol caused no significant changes in FEV1. The methacholine concentrations producing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20-MCh) after 20% ethanol (0.769 mg/ml, GSEM 1.514) were significantly (P = 0.0357) higher than those after saline (0.493 mg/ml, GSEM 1.368). This indicates that ethanol has a reducing effect on nonspecific bronchial responsiveness in patients with alcohol-induced asthma; this paper is the first report on the effects of ethanol on bronchial responsiveness.
Myou
S
S
Division of Respiratory Medicine, Ishikawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Kanazawa, Japan.
Fujimura
M
M
Nishi
K
K
Watanabe
K
K
Matsuda
M
M
Ohka
T
T
Matsuda
T
T
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D001249:Asthma / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001980:Bronchi / Q000187:drug effects*; D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D016210:Methacholine Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010919:Placebos; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage
D010919:Placebos; D016210:Methacholine Chloride; D000431:Ethanol; D012965:Sodium Chloride