Bronchial Response Study of Asthmatic Patients Using an Atmosphere-Changing Chamber

We studied the bronchial response to low-pressure conditions by using an atmosphere-controlling chamber. When asthmatic patients were put in a chamber in which the pressure was reduced gradually, their small airways did not change until an estimated 1,000-meter level and from an estimated 1,500 m asthmatic patients' lung function crossed to that of normal subjects. For astmatics there was a remarkable change in saturation of oxygen under low-pressure conditions. Many patients complained of typanophonia under negative-pressure conditions. From these, data we must consider the barometric pressure influence on asthmatic patients.