31
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original

Quantification of the Effect of Inhaled Budesonide on Airway Inflammation in Intermittent Asthma by Bronchitis Index

, M.D., , M.D., , M.D., , M.D., , M.D. & , M.D.
Pages 593-599 | Published online: 31 Oct 2001
 

Abstract

The bronchitis index (BI) is a scoring system for the visual quantification of airway inflammation by flexible bronchoscopy. A prospective study was carried out to determine whether patients with intermittent asthma present a considerable visible airway inflammation. Ten steroid-naive patients with intermittent asthma taking only inhaled β2-agonists were enrolled and received budesonide (800 μg/day) over a period of 4 weeks. The airway inflammation was assessed by flexible electronic videobronchoscopy before and after the steroid treatment phase and quantified using the BI. Despite normal pulmonary function, all patients with intermittent asthma showed a marked visible airway inflammation that was reversed by a 4-week treatment with the inhaled steroid budesonide. The present study demonstrates that the BI may be useful as a clinical research tool for the assessment and quantification of airway inflammation in asthma. Furthermore, our results support the widely recognized theory that airway inflammation is present even in patients with mild asthma, and emphasize the necessity of an early therapy with inhaled steroids.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,078.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.