Venlafaxine and asthma.

A 54-year-old man of Asian origin with major depression developed an asthma-like reaction during venlafaxine treatment. Two weeks after therapy was initiated, he experienced gradually worsening dry cough at night and periodically dyspnea during the daytime. After 5 weeks, clinical examination revealed marked signs of pulmonary obstruction and the forced expiratory volume (FEV1) was assessed to only 32% of the expected value. The venlafaxine medication was gradually decreased and eventually discontinued 9 weeks after its initiation, resulting in a successive improvement of the patient's respiratory complaints.