Eur Respir J 1999; 13:955-960 Copyright ©ERS Journals Ltd 1999
Measuring breathlessness during histamine challenge: a simple standardized procedure in asthmatic patients
ID Bijl-Hofland,
SG Cloosterman,
HT Folgering,
RP Akkermans,
H van den Hoogen,
and
CP van Schayck
One of the problems in research on symptom perception during histamine challenge has been the difficulty in finding both a valid and practical parameter of the "perceptiveness" for bronchoconstriction in a subject. The purpose of this study was to validate whether the slope in the linear regression model between stimulus and sensation during histamine challenge is an appropriate index for the "perceptiveness" for bronchoconstriction by comparing it with the classical Stevens' law. One hundred and thirty-four asthmatic patients were included in the study and underwent a bronchial challenge with histamine. The relationship between the change in visual analogue scale (VAS) values and the change in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) as percentage of baseline value was analysed by determining both the exponent n in deltaVAS=k x (%deltaFEV1)n and the slope alpha in deltaVAS=k + alpha(%deltaFEV1). The best-fitting line of both the exponential and the linear regression model were determined by the least-squares method in which the percentage explained variation (R2) was compared. The median value of R2 of the exponential regression line and the linear regression line was 0.76 and 0.83, respectively, and significantly different. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient between exponent n in the exponential model deltaVAS=k x (%deltaFEV1)n and the slope alpha in the linear regression model deltaVAS=k + alpha(%deltaFEV1) was 0.87 (95% confidence interval 0.83-0.91). On the basis of the results, it was concluded that the linear regression coefficient can be used as a valid expression to describe the "perceptiveness" of an asthmatic subject instead of Stevens' power function during histamine challenge.
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. J. Eckert, P. G. Catcheside, R. McDonald, A. M. Adams, K. E. Webster, M. C. Hlavac, and R. D. McEvoy
Sustained Hypoxia Depresses Sensory Processing of Respiratory Resistive Loads
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.,
October 15, 2005;
172(8):
1047 - 1054.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. J. Eckert, P. G. Catcheside, J. H. Smith, P. A. Frith, and R. D. McEvoy
Hypoxia Suppresses Symptom Perception in Asthma
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.,
June 1, 2004;
169(11):
1224 - 1230.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C M Salome, J D Leuppi, R Freed, and G B Marks
Perception of airway narrowing during reduction of inhaled corticosteroids and asthma exacerbation
Thorax,
December 1, 2003;
58(12):
1042 - 1047.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C.P. van Schayck, I.D. Bijl-Hofland, S.G.M. Cloosterman, H.T.M. Folgering, F.J.J. van der Elshout, and C. Van Weel
Potential masking effect on dyspnoea perception by short- and long-acting {beta}2-agonists in asthma
Eur. Respir. J.,
February 1, 2002;
19(2):
240 - 245.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
K. J. KILLIAN, R. WATSON, J. OTIS, T. A. ST. AMAND, and P. M. O'BYRNE
Symptom Perception during Acute Bronchoconstriction
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.,
August 1, 2000;
162(2):
490 - 496.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C P van Schayck, F M M A van der Heijden, G van den Boom, P R S Tirimanna, and C L A van Herwaarden
Underdiagnosis of asthma: is the doctor or the patient to blame? The DIMCA project
Thorax,
July 1, 2000;
55(7):
562 - 565.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
I. D. Bijl-Hofland, S. G. M. Cloosterman, C. P. van Schayck, F. J. J. v. d. Elshout, R. P. Akkermans, and H. Th. M. Folgering
Perception of Respiratory Sensation Assessed by Means of Histamine Challenge and Threshold Loading Tests
Chest,
April 1, 2000;
117(4):
954 - 959.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|
Copyright © 1999 by the European Respiratory Society.
|
|