[Asthma relieved by aspirin].

Some particular cases of bronchial asthma are improved by acetylsalicylic acid. The clinical characteristics of these patients are very similar to those of asthmatic ASA-sensitive cases: a cortico-dependent asthma occurring in later life, in nonatopic patients with chronic rhinitis, sinusitis and/or nasal polyposis. The patient notices that taking an occasional aspirin tablet for some other problem reduces his respiratory symptoms. The bronchodilator effect of aspirin and other Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in such patients has been clearly demonstrated, although all drugs don't have the same effectiveness. It is important to diagnose these aspirin-relieved asthma cases, using an oral aspirin test, because the treatment with aspirin allows us then to reduce the needed corticosteroid dose. We hypothesize that a diversion of the arachidonic acid metabolism towards cyclo-oxygenase products causes this syndrome.