Sputum eosinophilia is a determinant of FEV1 decline in occupational asthma: results of an observational study

To evaluate the potential determinants of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) decline in workers with occupational asthma (OA) still exposed to the causative agent. We hypothesised that sputum eosinophilia might be a predictor of poor asthma outcome after diagnosis.In a specialistic clinical centre of the University Hospital of Pisa, we studied 39 participants (28 M, 11 F) diagnosed as having OA, routinely followed up between 1990 and 2009....