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Depending on the clinical condition, placebo responses can affect objective and subjective responses to interventions differently. Researchers explored this issue in a study of 46 patients with stable asthma who exhibited large spirometric responses to inhaled albuterol.
On separate days, each patient received inhaled albuterol, inhaled placebo, an acupuncture sham treatment, and no intervention. Participants underwent pre- and postintervention spirometry, and subjective assessment of symptom improvement was recorded on a 10-point scale; on no-intervention days, patients underwent serial assessments without receiving interventions between assessments.
Albuterol increased mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) by 20%; in contrast, pl…