Oral slow-release theophylline does not prevent early and late asthmatic response to allergen in sensitized subjects.

In order to assess whether treatment with oral slow-release theophylline prevents early (EAR) and/or late (LAR) airway responses to allergen, we treated six asthmatic subjects with either placebo or oral theophylline (350 mg b.i.d.) for one week before specific bronchial provocation test (sBPT) with allergen, in a double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled study. All subjects had previously shown both EAR and LAR to allergen sBPT. On the day...