Clinical significance of nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness in asthma

Measurement of nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness remains largely a research tool in asthma, and its usefulness in the assessment and management of asthma is poorly defined. We studied the relationship of bronchial hyperresponsiveness to the clinical severity of asthma in 54 asthmatic subjects. In order to find out whether measurement of bronchial hyperresponsiveness could be used to predict future symptomatic status and requirements for drugs, ten patients were followed for three months. We found that there was no correlation between the clinical severity of asthma and the degree of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and, also, that the latter could not be used as a prognostic indicator of future symptomatic status and drug requirements. Measurement of nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness, therefore, adds little to the assessment and management of asthma.