OBJECTIVE: To investigate the medium-term benefits of a swimming program in schoolchildren and adolescents with moderate persistent atopic asthma (MPAA). METHODS: A randomized, prospective study of children and adolescents (age 7 to 18 years) with MPAA was carried out at the Hospital de Clinicas of Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil. After a 1-month run-in period, 61 patients (34 female) were randomized into two groups, a swimming group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 31), and followed for 3 months. Both patient groups received inhaled fluticasone (dry powder, 250 mcg twice a day) and salbutamol as needed. The swim training program consisted of two weekly classes over a 3-month period for a total of 24 sessions. Both groups underwent spirometric assessment and methacholine challenge test -- provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20) -- before and after the study period. Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were measured only in the swimming group. RESULTS: Significant increases in PC20 (pre-training 0.31 +/- 0.25; post-training 0.63 +/- 0.78; p = 0.008), MIP (pre-training 67.08 +/- 17.13 cmH2O; post-training 79.46 +/- 18.66; p < 0.001), and MEP (pre-training 71.69 +/- 20.01 cmH2O; post-training 78.92 +/- 21.45 cmH2O; p < 0.001) were found in the swimming group. CONCLUSION: Children and adolescents with MPAA subjected to a swim training program experienced a significant decrease in bronchial hyperresponsiveness, as determined by increased PC20 values, when compared with asthmatic controls who did not undergo swim training. Participants in the swimming group also showed improvement in elastic recoil of the chest wall.

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