Alcohol-induced respiratory symptoms are common in patients with aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease.

BACKGROUND

A large percentage of patients with aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) report the development of alcohol-induced respiratory reactions, but the true prevalence of respiratory reactions caused by alcoholic beverages in these patients was not known.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of alcohol-induced respiratory reactions in patients with AERD.

METHODS

A questionnaire designed to assess alcohol-induced respiratory symptoms was administered to patients at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Scripps Clinic. At least 50 patients were recruited into each of 4 clinical groups: (1) patients with aspirin challenge-confirmed AERD, (2) patients with aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA), (3) patients with aspirin tolerance and with chronic rhinosinusitis, and (4) healthy controls. Two-tailed Fisher exact tests with Bonferroni corrections were used to compare the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among AERD and other groups, with P ≤ .017 considered significant.

RESULTS

The prevalence of alcohol-induced upper (rhinorrhea and/or nasal congestion) respiratory reactions in patients with AERD was 75% compared with 33% with aspirin-tolerant asthma, 30% with chronic rhinosinusitis, and 14% with healthy controls (P < .001 for all comparisons). The prevalence of alcohol-induced lower (wheezing and/or dyspnea) respiratory reactions in AERD was 51% compared with 20% in aspirin-tolerant asthma and with 0% in both chronic rhinosinusitis and healthy controls (P < .001 for all comparisons). These reactions were generally not specific to one type of alcohol and often occurred after ingestion of only a few sips of alcohol.

CONCLUSION

Alcohol ingestion causes respiratory reactions in the majority of patients with AERD, and clinicians should be aware that these alcohol-induced reactions are significantly more common in AERD than in controls who are aspirin tolerant.