İs hypocapnia an important factor in exercise - induced asthma?

Year 1994, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 6 - 9, 01.01.1994

T.K. Özdemir M. Artvinli A. Gencoğlu

Abstract

Recent investigations have demostrated that heat and water loss from the airways plays a very important role in developing exercise - induced asthma (EIA). In this study we wanted to prove that hypocapnia also has a role as important as these factors. In order to show this, we made 4 trials with 16 patients having EIA. All the patients were informed about the trials and their written approvals were received. In the first trial we measured the pulmonary functions before and after the exercise tests and considered this trial as the control group. In the second trial the patients used a surgical mask, in the third inhaled 5%C02 + 95%02 gas mixture and in the fourth inhaled 100%02 during the exercise tests.

These trials revealed that, the decrease in pulmonary function values were significantly less during both the mask day and the C02 day when compared with the control day. When the mask and the C02 days were compared by paired t test, the minimum decrease in pulmonary functions occured on the C02 day.

We concluded that, hypocapnia plays an important role in the pathophysiology of EIA.

Keywords

Hypocapnia, exercise - induced asthma

References

• Sinha SB, Yadav CH. Effect of exercise stress on the bronchospastic response of asthmatics in remission. J Indian fled Assoc 1989;87:58-61.