J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  2007 Oct;31(5):529-534.

Prevalence of Asthma-like Symptoms in Subjects with Chronic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

• Shin HI
• Lee BS
• Park HW
• Jeong YS

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate clinical relevance of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in subjects with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) by investigating the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms. METHOD: Two hundred twelve patients with SCI responded to the modified questionnaire of International Study of Asthma and Allergic disease in Children (ISSAC). Among them, 28 patients underwent a methacholine bronchial provocation test to measure AHR.
RESULTS
The prevalence of AHR was significantly higher in subject with chronic cervical SCI compared with that in subjects with chronic thoracic or lumbar SCI (73.3% vs. 23.1%, p=0.023). In tetraplegics, the prevalence of wheezing during last 12 months, post-exercise wheezing, sleep disturbance due to nocturnal cough or wheezing, and dust-induced breathlessness were 40.0%, 37.8%, 33.3%, and 31.1% respectively, which were significantly higher than paraplegics and general population in Korea (p<0.05, p=0.001, 0.013, 0.002, 0.004 respectively).
CONCLUSION
AHR in subjects with chronic cervical SCI might be a cause of symptomatic airway disturbances such as wheezing, cough, and breathlessness.

Keyword

Spinal cord injury; Airway hyperresponsiveness; Asthma

MeSH Terms

Asthma
Bronchial Provocation Tests
Child
Cough
Humans
Korea
Methacholine Chloride
Prevalence*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Respiratory Sounds
Spinal Cord Injuries*
Spinal Cord*
Methacholine Chloride