Bronchial Provocation Testing
A test that involves breathing in small doses of Mannitol powder and performing spirometry at certain intervals to diagnose airway sensitivity or asthma.
Why you might need a Mannitol test
Mannitol challenge testing was developed as a safe easy-to-use standardised bronchial challenge test for diagnosing asthma in a wide range of clinical settings.
This test is useful if you have symptoms suggestive of asthma, a positive test indicates a high likelihood of asthma with ongoing airway inflammation and useful for detecting asthma requiring anti-inflammatory medication.
What to expect
A bronchial provocation test usually takes up to 30 minutes to complete and can require you to blow into a mouthpiece approximately 15 times in total. You will be seated upright in a comfortable position, the technician will explain the procedure in total and will also give you verbal and/or visual cues during the test so you will not have to remember the whole procedure start to finish.
A nose clip will be placed on your nose and you will be instructed to start by performing standard spirometry three times establishing baseline measurements.
After the initial spirometry the technician will explain the procedure of inhaling set doses of mannitol and performing FEV1 manoeuvres to measure the dose response of the mannitol on the laboratory spirometer.
Following the bronchial provocation test our Specialist Physician will explain the results to you in detail.
