Airway hyperresponsiveness to hypertonic saline as a predictive index of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.

Background: Changes in airway mucosal osmolarity are an underlying mechanism of bronchoconstrictive responses to exercise and hypertonic saline (HS). The purpose of this study was to examine whether an osmotic challenge test using HS can predict exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) in asthma patients.

Methods: Thirty-six young male asthmatic patients underwent bronchial challenge tests based on 4.