Different kinds of pulmonary impairment have been described in Sjögren syndrome, including rare cases of bronchiectasis. The authors report a female patient with a history of episodes of respiratory infections and progressive breathlessness whose high resolution computerized tomography revealed bronchiectasis. A former open lung biopsy showed bronchiolar inflammatory and fibrotic changes. The diagnosis of Sjögren syndrome was made only late in the evolution, although sicca syndrome symptoms had been present for years. The authors discuss the potential pathogenic mechanisms involved in the development of the bronchiectasis and the need for a high degree of clinical medical skill for the early diagnosis of such conditions.

Keywords: Sjögren syndrome; bronchiectasis; bronchiolitis

Objective: To determine the prevalence of factors associated with difficult-to-control asthma. Methods: Patients with severe asthma were selected from the outpatient asthma clinic of the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine Hospital das Clínicas. The patients were divided into two groups: controlled severe asthma and difficult-to-control severe asthma. After new attempts to optimize the severe asthma treatment, a questionnaire was applied, and additional tests for factors associated with difficult-to-control asthma, such as environmental and occupational exposure, smoking history, social factors, rhinitis/sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obstructive sleep apnea, congestive heart failure (CHF), pulmonary embolism, cystic fibrosis, vocal cord dysfunction, α-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and Churg-Strauss syndrome, were performed. Results: 77 patients with severe asthma were selected, of which 47 suffered from hard-to-control asthma, being 68.1% female, with mean age of 44.4 years (±14.4), and forced expiratory volume in one second of 54.7% (±18.3). The most factors most often associated with difficult-to-control asthma were noncompliance with treatment (68%), rhinitis/sinusitis (57%), GERD (49%), environmental exposure (34%), occupational exposure (17%), smoking history (10%), obstructive sleep apnea (2%), and CHF (2%). At least one of these factors was identified in every case. Conclusions: Noncompliance with treatment was the factor most often associated with difficult-to-control asthma, underscoring the need to investigate comorbidities in the evaluation of patients with this form of the disease.

Keywords: Asthma; Smoking; Gastroesophageal reflux; Patient compliance; Rhinitis; Sinusitis.

Background: The methacholine challenge test is commonly used to evaluate bronchial responsiveness in diagnosis and follow-up of asthmatic patients. Objective: To investigate late effects of methacholine challenge on induced sputum. Methods: Ten non-smoker patients with mild or moderate stable asthma were recruited. At 12:00 p.m., patients were randomly assigned to inhale either methacholine (challenge) or physiologic saline. At 6:00 p.m., sputum induction was performed. On the second visit, one week apart, patients completed their participation in the study by undergoing another inhalation and sputum induction. Results: After methacholine, 8.6 ± 9 g of sputum were expectorated with 8.6 ± 6 million cells, 78 ± 10% were viable, and 6.8 ± 7% eosinophils. These data were not different from results obtained after saline: sputum amount = 7.6 ± 6 g, total cell count = 12.4 ± 12 million, viability = 82 ± 10%, and eosinophils = 6.6 ± 9%. Expiratory flow (PF) peak fall during sputum induction was not different: 21.4 ± 12% after methacholine and 18.4 ± 15% after saline. The PF fall observed during induction correlated with the amount of expectorated sputum (p = 0.018) and eosinophil relative number (p = 0.003). No other significant correlation between lung function measurements and sputum characteristics was found. Conclusion: A methacholine challenge carried out six hours before sputum induction does not significantly alter the cellular constituents or amount of sputum.

Keywords: Asthma. Methacholine chloride. Bronchial provocation tests.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate physical conditioning and muscle strength before and after a four-month program of physical training. Methods: Two groups of children, ages 8 to 11 years, with moderate asthma were studied. All subjects were tested before and after a program of physical training, which was conducted in 90-min sessions, twice weekly, for four months and also included exercises performed in the water. Children in both groups received general information about asthma, as well as information about the management and treatment of asthma. Results: In the final evaluation, anthropometric parameters (height and weight) were found to have increased. Children in the exercise group presented significant gains in the distance run in nine minutes (initial 1.333 + 0.03 km vs. final 1.440 + 0.03 km; p < 0.05), number of abdominal crunches (initial 24.3 + 1.4 abdominais vs. final 33.2 + 1.1; p < 0.05), maximal inspiratory pressure (initial 73 + 5 cmH2O vs. final 103 + 5 cmH2O; p < 0.05), maximal expiratory pressure (initial 75 + 4 cmH2O vs. final 102 + 4 cmH2O; p < 0.05) and heart rate at rest (initial 84.3 + 1.6 bpm vs. final 77.1 + 2.7 bpm; p < 0.05). The control group presented no significant changes in any of these parameters. Conclusion: An exercise program involving longer sessions, conducted less frequently, facilitates increased participation by children, thereby leading to better physical conditioning and greater muscle strength.

Background: The relationship between asthma and gastroesophageal reflux is, as yet, not completely understood. Among the mechanisms thought to be responsible for gastroesophageal reflux-related worsening of asthma symptoms are the vagovagal reflex and microaspiration. Objective: To assess forced expiratory volume in one second after acid infusion. Method: This study investigated the effect of acid infusion in 13 volunteers with moderate asthma and gastroesophageal reflux. Spirometry was performed before and after insertion of an 8F nasogastric tube and a pH meter. After 15 minutes of saline solution infusion into the midpoint between the upper esophageal sphincter and lower esophageal sphincter, and again after 15 minutes of esophageal acidification (with hydrochloric acid) of the same area, forced expiratory volume in one second was reassessed. Acidification was repeated every 5 minutes until forced expiratory volume in one second values stabilized (variation: < 5%). Results: Mean forced expiratory volume in one second values remained stable during the tube insertion, saline infusion, initial hydrochloric acid infusion and subsequent hydrochloric acid infusion procedures (p = 0.72). Lower forced expiratory volume in one second values were seen resulting from the tube insertion in two patients (drops of 11% and 22%, respectively), after saline infusion in another two (drops of 13% and 14%) and after acid infusion in 1 (a drop of 22%). Conclusion: Esophageal acidification over short periods does not lead to spirometric alterations in a group of asthmatics with gastroesophageal reflux. However, in some cases, simple esophageal procedures or infusions result in bronchospasm.

Keywords: Key words: Asthma. Gastroesophageal reflux. Respiratory function tests. Endoscopy/methods.