TRACHEOBRONCHIAL CLEARANCE AND BETA-ADRENOCEPTOR STIMULATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC-BRONCHITIS

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  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 57  (6) , 281-289
Abstract
The effect of a .beta.-adrenoceptor stimulating agent, terbutaline, on mucociliary transport in the lungs was studied in 10 patients with chronic bronchitis. Mucociliary transport was studied by having the patients inhale 6 .mu.m teflon particles tagged with 99mTc and by external measurement of the radioactivity in the lungs in the supine position. Terbutaline 0.25 mg and vehicle, respectively, were given s.c. in a cross-over double-blind study. On the average, clearance was slow in the examinations where the patients were given vehicle. Terbutaline produced a marked increase in mucociliary transport in 4 patients, a smaller increase in 1 and no effect in the others. Of the 4 patients who showed a marked increase in clearance, 3 had less ventilatory impairment than the other 7 patients. This may have indicated that the mucociliary transport mechanism was less severely damaged in relatively early stages of the disease than in later stages. On the average FEV1.0 [forced expiratory volume in 15] deteriorated significantly during the clearance measurements when vehicle was given, but did not change significantly when terbutaline was given.