What is a bronchial challenge test?

The bronchial challenge test is a diagnostic method used to test asthma in patients who have occasional breathing problems. In the bronchial challenge test, the patient inaches a certain amount of drug, such as methacholine or histamine that causes narrowing of the airways. Asthma is usually characterized by airway hypersensitivity, so an asthma individual generally responds to a lower dose of drug used for the test. Spirometry, a clinical test that can measure the speed and volume of breathing is used to assess the degree of narrowing of the airways. The bronchial challenge test can be quite demanding and even painful for some patients, so other diagnostic methods are often used.

The drugs used in the bronchial challenge test are designed to target various receptors that cause the airways to narrow. For example, histamine focuses on H1 histamine receptor. When this receptor is exposed to histamine, it gives a number of signals that lead to the narrowing of The Airways. Similarly methacholinIt initiates the signaling pathway starting with the M3 receptor, which also leads to narrowing the airways. A low dose of histamine or methacholine can often cause narrowing of the respiratory tract in patients through these paths, creating tests of bronchial challenges of useful diagnostic instruments.

In some cases, asthma can be diagnosed by examining symptoms or attempted treatment without resorting to the bronchial challenge test. This is often more advantageous because the bronchial challenge test can sometimes return false positives and can be physically strenuous. The induced narrowing of the respiratory tract can lead to violent and painful cough, which, in addition to the unpleasant patient, makes spirituality more difficult. The test can even be somewhat dangerous in the worst and strictly unpleasant at best for patients who already have problems with narrowing or obstacle to the airways. False diagnosis are possible if the symptom isA asthma caused by exposure to harmful environmental factors or particularly strenuous exercise.

For testing and greater clarification of the diagnosis performed by the bronchial challenge test can be administered drugs known as bronchodilators. Such substances are used to reverse the effects of substances that lead to narrowing the airways. Their efficiency can be used to confirm that the narrowing is caused by suspicious signaling paths. In addition, the administration of substances used to reverse the narrowing to test the ability of such substances in the future may treat the patient in the future. For example, inhalers contain bronchodilators to be used by patients with asthma during asthma attacks.