Biomedical subjects

C Feyeraband

Publications and source records attributed to C Feyeraband.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1980

Cigarette smoking in asthma.

A survey was performed of smoking habits and respiratory symptoms of 106 asthmatic patients attending a hospital out-patient clinic. A quarter of the patients were currently smokers and a further quarter were ex-smokers. Less than a third of the smokers complained of symptoms of wheeze or dyspnoea after smoking. Asthmatic smokers had a much higher prevalence of chronic cough but their lung function appeared no lower than non-smokers. Ten asthmatic smokers were selected to contrast their acute bronchial response to smoking a currently marketed cigarette with that of ten asymptomatic smokers. Only four of ten asthmatic patients and two of ten asymptomatic smokers developed acute airway narrowing after smoking despite changes in venous blood nicotine levels which confirmed cigarette smoke inhalation. Many more asthmatic patients smoke than might be expected from the known instability of their airways. Our failure to show frequent and substantial airway reactivity to cigarette smoke in these patients suggests either that cigarette smoke may not be as acutely irritant as might be anticipated or that some asthmatic patients acquire tolerance to it. The effects of chronic cigarette consumption could be demonstrated even in this small sample which suggests that asthmatic patients should be advised to stop smoking, especially as many clinicians expect asthma and smoking to be a rare coincidence.

Adult↗

PubMed1980

Cigarette smoke inhalation and the acute airway response.

The acute airway response to smoking varying numbers (one to four) of identical cigarettes in rapid succession and smoking single cigarettes of differing tar/nicotine yields was assessed repeatedly in 13 healthy smokers. The airway response was variable, indicating airway narrowing consistently in only three subjects. There appeared no difference between forced spirometry and measurement of airway resistance in detecting the airway response. No relationship was observed between the airway response and amount of smoke inhaled into the lungs as measured either by changes in venous blood nicotine or percentage carboxyhaemoglobin. When five smokers inhaled smoke directly from a cigarette acute airway narrowing was consistently observed. A normal smoking pattern consisting of an initial drag of smoke into the mouth, followed after a pause by inhalation of smoke diluted with air, did not consistently cause airway narrowing although similar amounts of smoke as the direct drag were inhaled as assessed by changes in venous blood nicotine. The manner of smoke inhalation affects the relative concentrations of the different constituents of smoke reaching the lungs and also appears to be the main determinant of the acute airway response to smoking, which was unrelated to the number of cigarettes smoked or the tar content of the smoke. This suggests that patterns of smoke inhalation may influence the pathogenesis of bronchial disease associated with smoking.

Adult↗