Effect of Salbutamol on Spirometry and Blood-gas Tensions in Bronchial Asthma

A new bronchodilator drug, salbutamol, reduced airway obstruction in 37 patients with bronchial asthma but did not lead to a significant fall in lowered arterial oxygen tension. This drug, unlike other bronchodilators, appears to have little or no effect on the cardiovascular system, and it is suggested that it does not therefore lead to an intensification of the ventilation/perfusion disturbance in the lung leading to a worsening of hypoxaemia.