Bronchial challenge responses in asthmatic patients sensitized to Artemisia spp. pollen

To characterize the patients whose asthma may be caused by Artemisia pollen extracts, we studied the bronchoprovocation test with Korean Artemisia pollen extracts (1:20 w/v), methacholine bronchial challenge test and wormwood-RAST in 32 asthmatic patients sensitized to Artemisia pollen. Twenty-six(81%) developed a 15% or greater decrease in FEVI after the inhalation of Artemisia pollen extracts and 13 patients showed early responses, 8 dual, and 5 late only. Thirteen(50%) out of 26 positive responders complained of seasonal aggravation of their asthmatic symptoms. Seven(53.8%) of the 13 seasonal type patients, 10(76.9%) of the 13 perennial type and 5(100%) of the 5 negative responders showed concurrent positive responses in the house dust bronchoprovocation test. The bronchial responsiveness to allergen(PD15) was more dependent upon the specific IgE level(bound radioactivity on wormwood-RAST) and multiple regression analysis revealed that the specific IgE level and methacholine PC20 may be contributory to allergen PD15. These results suggested that specific IgE to Artemisia pollen appears to be the major contributor to susceptibility to Artemisia bronchial challenges and this pollen may be considered as one of the important allergenic etiologies of atopic asthma in this country.