Paradoxical bronchospasm can represent a distinct and unrecognised phenotype of patients with obstructive lung diseases, researchers say.

Though rare, the condition “is a clinically significant entity, known to be associated with worse respiratory outcomes, such as increased frequency of exacerbations in obstructive lung diseases”, says Dr Malvika Kaul, of the University of Illinois and the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Chicago, US.

Paradoxical bronchospasm has been reported in two large COPD studies but not in high-risk populations such as veterans who have a high prevalence of obstructive lung diseases like COPD, she told delegates at the American College of Chest Physicians’ annual meeting, CHEST 2021.

The goal of the current study was to determine whether paradoxical bronchospasm was recognised or reported in spirometry results of US military veterans with COPD and/or asthma.