Subjects suffering form exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) usually have a normal lung function testing at rest. To provoke asthma symptoms a provocation test is necessary, e.g., by bronchial methacholine testing or by a standardised exercise test on a treadmill. The correlation between methacholine and exercise test is fair, possibly because both methods measure different kinds of bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Moreover, the sensitivity and the repeatability of the exercise test is fair.
The value of the methacholine test to predict a positive exercise test will be measured. We hypothesize that the exercise test in a cold chamber, a combination of two provocation methods cold air and exercise, is more sensitive to detect EIB and that the test has a better repeatability.
