[Effects of oxitropium bromide on exercise and lung function in patients with pulmonary emphysema]

Anticholinergic drugs have been reported to be effective in pulmonary emphysema. We studied the effects of the anticholinergic drug oxitropium bromide on exercise capacity and lung function in patients with this disease. We studied 11 men and 1 women, aged 69.3 +/- 4.5 yrs, in whom chest radiography showed pulmonary emphysema. Before and after the subjects inhaled two puffs of oxitropium bromide, they walked in a corridor for 12 minutes, and the distance they walked and spirometric data were recorded. FVC and FEV1 were significantly higher after inhalation of the drug. FEV1% did not change, and the distance walked increased slightly. We also studied symptoms and peak expiratory flow rate in 37 patients with pulmonary emphysema before and after the start of therapy with inhaled oxitropium bromide. Symptom scores of wheezing and sleep improved, and peak expiratory flows increased significantly. We conclude that inhaled oxitropium bromide can improve lung function and slightly increase exercise capacity in patients with pulmonary emphysema. These effects may be caused by bronchodilation-induced increases in FEV1 and FVC. Monitoring of peak expiratory flow in patients with pulmonary emphysema may be useful for evaluating the clinical effectiveness of oxitropium bromide.