RESUMO
The authors revise their preliminary experiment with the bronchial provocation test using carbachol in 50 children of 5 to 14 years with non-IgE dependent bronchial asthma who had been asymptomatic for one year prior to the test in order to make a clinical evaluation of asthma. The observe the evolution of the non-specific bronchial hyperreactivity (NSBH) with respect to the clinical remission and determine whether the persistence of NSBH is correlated to certain clinical, epidemiological and analytical parameters (peripheral eosinophilia, total IgE). In 22 children (44%) the functional respiratory examination was normal throughout each phase of the test. In the other 56%, the functional respiratory study using carbachol showed exhalation reductions which suggested NSBH. The most significant parameters were the reductions in FEV1, PEF (p less than 0.001) and FMEF (p = 0.001). Thus the patients revealing NSBH in the carbachol test are characterised for having revealed acute asthma of higher intensity, more often associated with an acute respiratory infection and with lower values of total IgE (p less than 0.05) with respect to the group without NSBH in the carbachol test.
