[The effect of verapamil on external respiratory function in bronchial asthma patients during high-altitude speleotherapy].

To study the effect of speleotherapy on external respiration (ER) in asthma, ER was investigated in 2 randomized groups of 20 asthma subjects each. Speleotherapy was conducted in 24-day courses in salt caves of Chon-Tuz (2100 m above the sea level). The overall exposure lasted 160 hrs. One of the groups was assigned to additional verapamil hydrochloride aerosol therapy (10 mg/day, days 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22). Speleotherapy was found to initiate positive shifts in the external respiration function whereas verapamil hydrochloride to potentiate the observed beneficial rearrangement in asthma patients.