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The post bronchodilator test (Post BD), also commonly referred to as a reversibility test, is a test that utilizes spirometry to assess possible reversibility of bronchoconstriction in diseases such as asthma.
A spirometer is a device used to measure timed expired and inspired volumes, and can be used to help diagnose asthma. A peak flow meter is a hand-held device which measures how fast a person can exhale – peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) – and is a reliable test for occupational asthma. [16]
A bronchial challenge test is a medical test used to assist in the diagnosis of asthma. [1] The patient breathes in nebulized methacholine or histamine. Thus the test may also be called a methacholine challenge test or histamine challenge test respectively. Both drugs provoke bronchoconstriction, or narrowing of the airways.
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is a hallmark of asthma but also occurs frequently in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). [2] In the Lung Health Study, bronchial hyperresponsiveness was present in approximately two-thirds of patients with non-severe COPD, and this predicted lung function decline independently of other ...
This test requires the patient to breathe aerosols of the suspected agent (asthmagen) through an oro-facial mask or mouth piece. These asthmagens are aerosolized using closed-circuit chambers, and the quantities and concentrations administered being minute and extremely stable minimize the risk of exaggerated responses. [5]
The peak expiratory flow can be measured at the bedside; in acute severe asthma, the flow is less than 50% of a person's normal or predicted flow. [6] Very severe acute asthma (termed "near-fatal" as there is an immediate risk to life) is characterised by a peak flow of less than 33% predicted, oxygen saturations below 92% or cyanosis (blue ...
The mechanisms behind allergic asthma—i.e., asthma resulting from an immune response to inhaled allergens—are the best understood of the causal factors. In both people with asthma and people who are free of the disease, inhaled allergens that find their way to the inner airways are ingested by a type of cell known as antigen-presenting ...
Asthma phenotyping and endotyping is a novel approach to asthma classification inspired by precision medicine. It seeks to separate the clinical presentations or clusters of signs and symptoms of asthma, known as asthma phenotypes, from their underlying etiologies or causes, known as asthma endotypes. [1] [2] [3]