Asthma and chronic bronchitis: contrasting changes in body weight and hematocrit values during recovery from acute...

Two groups of hospital inpatients, one with asthma and the other with chronic bronchitis were studied during the course of an acute episode. All had comparable airways obstruction and were free of cardiac involvement. They were treated on roughly similar lines and without the use of adrenal corticosteroids or any other agent that may influence body water balance. Body weight and hematocrit values done on admission and following recovery from dyspnoes, show that the asthmatics gained in weight and showed significant decrease in hematocrit on recovery, while there was no appreciable changes in the bronchitic group.