A Smokers who have bronchial hyperresponsiveness will be at risk for COPD patients.

Methacholin Provocation Test in COPD and Healthy Smokers

Abstract: Objective: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has become a global health concern. The data indicate that only 20-25% of smokers develop COPD. The prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) among smokers that develop into COPD is presumed higher than smokers who do not develop COPD. Methods: Samples from lung clinics in three government hospitals in Surabaya were examined. The samples had to meet the inclusion criteria and were willing to participate in the research. The samples were divided into two groups: COPD (group A and group B) and healthy smokers. Samples with asthma, allergies, Asthma COPD Overlap Syndrome (ACOS), tuberculosis, post-tuberculosis, Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) <50% predicted, FEV1 <1 liter, exacerbation ≥1 times that need hospital admission in a previous year were excluded from the study. The values of Provocation Concentration causing fall of 20% in FEV1 (PC20) with Methacholine Challenge Test on both groups samples were evaluated, the average was assessed and differences were compared. Results: There were 182 samples and only 23 samples were analyzed from each group; COPD and healthy smokers. BHR in COPD group were 47.83%, higher than healthy smoker (16 vs. 7) with significance PC20 average (3.77±3.74 vs. 10.20±3.73) mg.mL-1, p = 0.001. An analysis on BHR on COPD group indicated that group B had more BHR compared to group A (73.3% vs. 62.5%) with an average (3.55±2.96 vs. 4.26±5.49) mg.mL-1, but no statistically significant difference (p = 0.738). Conclusion: There were samples with more BHR in the COPD group compared to healthy smokers. Smokers with BHR were at a risk of getting COPD. Keywords: Bronchial hyperresponsiveness, cigarettes, COPD, exacerbation, lungs, methacholine challenge test.