SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2006

11/15/06

Occupational asthma after cessation of exposure

Summary
Background - The prognosis of occupational asthma (OA) after cessation of exposure to the offending agent is not well defined.

Findings - Rachiotis et al of the National Heart and Lung Institute in London, UK carried out a systemic review of studies in this area. They found that frequency of complete symptomatic recovery from OA following cessation of exposure varied from 0-100% in different studies, with an overall mean of 30%. Recovery tended to be: 1) more common in those with shorter duration of previous exposure to the offending agent and 2) less common in older age and clinic-based populations. Overall, non-specific bronchial hyper-responsiveness was present after cessation of exposure in about 73% of cases, seen more when the offending agent was a high molecular weight compound.

Reference
Thorax 2006;E pub Oct 13

Editor's Comments
The authors concluded that the findings in different studies were not sufficiently consistent to allow the clinician to reliably predict prognosis for the individual patient who has ceased exposure after OA has been diagnosed. Reduction of exposure duration, particularly in older individuals, appears to be important in decreasing the risk for residual abnormalities in OA.

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