Similar colds in subjects with allergic asthma and nonatopic subjects after inoculation with rhinovirus-16.

Background: Rhinovirus infections are frequent causes of asthma exacerbations.

Objective: This study was conducted to test whether subjects with and without allergic asthma have different responses to infection and to identify baseline patient risk factors that predict cold outcomes.

Methods: Twenty subjects with mild persistent allergic asthma and 18 healthy subjects were experimentally inoculated with rhinovirus-16.