Clinical Toxicology and Its Relevance to Asthma and Atopy.

Although both the prevalence of asthma and the prescription drug use, notably the opiate analgesic class, epidemics are increasing, there is a complex interplay between both disorders, with both protective and exacerbating factors involved in the effect of opiates on asthma pathogenesis and clinical severity. This review examines the airway effects, both immunologic and neurologic, of opiates, which may interact and result in protection or exacerbation of asthma.