British Journal of Sports Medicine 2008;42:845-849
Original articles
Acid reflux into the oesophagus does not influence exercise-induced airway narrowing in bronchial asthma
Department of Biomedical and Surgical Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Correspondence to:
Francesco Bonella, Servizio di Fisiopatologia Respiratoria, Policlinico GB Rossi, 37134 Verona, Italy; francesco.bonella{at}libero.it
Objectives: A few studies on small patient series have investigated the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux and bronchial responsiveness as expressed by exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), with non-conclusive results. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of acid in the oesophagus may influence EIB.
Methods: 45 patients with bronchial asthma underwent spirometry, exercise challenge on bicycle ergometer and 24 h oesophageal pH monitoring. Subjects with EIB (Forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1)) percentage decrease after exercise (
FEV1) 
15%, n = 28) were retested after a 2 week treatment course with omeprazole 40 mg/daily. Exercise at baseline was performed at the same time as oesophageal pH monitoring.
Results: In basal condition, there was no difference in FEV1, acid exposure time or number of refluxes measured during 24 h pH monitoring between patients with and without EIB. There was no relationship between spirometry results and FEV1 on one hand, and parameters of gastroesophageal reflux on the other. Nine patients with EIB (31.0%) and six patients without EIB (37.5%) had one or more episodes of GER during exercise challenge, without significant differences between the two groups. After gastric acid inhibition by omeprazole, FEV1 did not change significantly.
Conclusions: The results indicate that acid in the oesophagus, or its short-term inhibition by proton pump inhibitors, has no influence on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
Keywords: gastroesophageal reflux; asthma; exercise; bronchospasm
Relevant Article
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Br. J. Sports Med. 2008 42: 849-850.
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
-
All Versions of this Article:
bjsm.2006.034983v1
42/10/845 most recent - Submit a response
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
