Exercise induced bronchoconstriction in Nigerian asthmatics

This study describes the result of free-running exercise performed on 40 asthmatic subjects and 40 age and sex matched controls. A percentage fall of more than 15% in PEFR was used for the diagnosis of exercise-induced asthma (EIA). 77.5% of our asthmatic patients had exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) while none of the control subjects exhibited EIB. Twenty-seven patients gave positive history of EIA out of which 25 (92.59%) had positive exercise testing. Conversely, 13 patients with asthma did not give history of EIA but 6 of this (46.15%) were found to have EIB on exercise. History alone is therefore insufficient to diagnose patients with exercise-induced asthma.