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The role of adrenergic mechanism in the pathogenesis of allergic disease is controversial. Recent experimental and clinical reports have suggested that beta-adrenergic blockade impairs and beta stimulation enhances extrarenal potassium uptake in humans. This led us to study the effect of the intravenous administration of salbutamol, a specific beta-2-adrenergic agonist, on serum potassium in 9 healthy subjects and in 23 patients with allergic asthma and/or rhinitis. Serum potassium fell significantly and reached a peak decline at the end of venous infusion in all the normal subjects. Seventeen atopic subjects showed a lower or absent serum K+ decrement: there was no difference between asthmatic and rhinitic patients. There was no relation among the salbutamol-induced serum potassium decrement, serum glucose increment, blood pressure and heart-rate changes, and nonspecific bronchial reactivity. These findings suggest that beta-2-adrenergic hyporesponsiveness is present only in some allergic patients.

The effect obtained using terbutaline and Duovent was studied in a group of 16 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease. The drugs were administered by aerosol in doses based on spirometric indices of flow and lung capacity. The results obtained confirm the efficacy of the two drugs in improving gas flow. This improvement persisted for 6–7 h after administration. Comparison of the two drugs has shown that as far as FVC is concerned, the improvement obtained with Duovent is longer-lasting than that with terbutaline. There were no side-effects.

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