Continued inhalation of lidocaine suppresses antigen-induced airway hyperreactivity and airway inflammation in ovalbumin-sensitized guinea pigs

It is unclear whether inhaled lidocaine is effective against airway hyperreactivity and inflammation in asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of inhaled lidocaine on airway hyperreactivity and inflammation. Airway reactivity to inhaled histamine, cellular composition of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, plasma substance P (SP), and isolated lung tissue were evaluated in ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized guinea pigs 7 days after OVA challenge. The effects of inhaled lidocaine on this model were also evaluated. Treatment with lidocaine was administered in two fashions: as single inhalation or inhalation bid for 7 consecutive days, for comparison with a saline-inhaled control group. Airway hyperreactivity to histamine, increase in number of total cells and increased proportion of eosinophils in BAL fluid, and marked eosinophil infiltration in airway walls were noted even 7 days after OVA challenge in the control group. Plasma SP level was also significantly increased. Although treatment with single lidocaine inhalation did not affect airway hyperreactivity, continued inhalation (bid for 7 days) attenuated airway hyperreactivity. Continued, but not single, inhalation of lidocaine also suppressed infiltration of eosinophils in BAL fluid and in airway walls. In addition, plasma SP levels were significantly reduced by continued but not by single inhalation. It appears possible that lidocaine when inhaled suppresses eosinophilic inflammation of the airway and SP-induced neurogenic inflammation, leading to alleviation of airway hyperreactivity.