Immediate bronchodilator response in FEV1 as a diagnostic criterion for adult asthma

What is it about?

Asthma is a common disease, which should be correctly diagnosed before starting long-term medication. Asthma is characterized by variable and reversible airway obstruction. Thus, it is logical to use the lung function tests to diagnose asthma. These tests (especially spirometry) measure how easy air flows through airways. Inhaled bronchodilating drugs can open obstructive airways and the change in airflow volume in one second has been used to point out asthma diagnosis. However, it has been difficult to know what the cut-off-level of the amount of bronchodilative response is to differentiate asthma from healthy subjects and patients with other lung diseases. This review includes all the main studies during the last five decades concerning immediate bronchodilative response in spirometry as a diagnostic tool. We conclude that there is not enough data to assess the sensitivity or specificity of any of the cut-off-levels of this response to differentiate asthma from healthy subjects or other

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