Aspirin-Induced Asthma as a Risk Factor for Asthma Mortality

Abstract

We have recently reported severe airway obstruction and bronchial hyperre-sponsiveness (BHR) in fatal asthma compared with patients without a history of near-fatal asthma. Based on these findings, we evaluated whether aspirin-induced asthma (AIA) is a risk factor for asthma mortality by analyzing pulmonary function and BHR. FEV_1.0% and methacholine inhalation threshold were significantly lower in the fatal asthma group compared with the AIA and non-AIA groups. However, there were no significant differences between the AIA and non-AIA groups. Our results suggested that AIA is not a risk factor for asthma mortality if avoidance of aspirin and aspirin-like drugs is assured.

Key Words:

• Asthma mortality
• Aspirin-induced asthma (AIA)
• Bronchial hyperre-sponsiveness (BHR)
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)