Patterns of Improvement in Spirometry, Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness, and Specific IgE Antibody Levels after Cessation of Exposure in Occupational Asthma Caused by Snow-Crab Processing

Thirty-one workers with occupational asthma caused by snow-crab processing were assessed by a long-term follow-up on three occasions at mean ± SD intervals of 12.8 ± 5.4, 31.4 ± 6.3, and 64.4 ± 6.3 months after leaving work. The diagnosis of work-related asthma was initially confirmed in all of them by specific inhalation challenges at the workplace or by laboratory inhalation of snow-crab boiling water (n = 24) or by serial monitoring of airway...