TABLE 1.

Studies investigating the effects of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on bronchial biopsy immune cell counts

First author, year [ref.]	Length of treatment	Macrophages	Neutrophils	Eosinophils	Mast cells	Lymphocytes
Verhoeven, 2002 [ 64 ]	6 months (ICS)	=	=	=	=	=
Hattotuwa, 2002 [ 61 ]	3 months (ICS)	=	=	=	↓	=
Barnes, 2006 [ 63 ]	3 months (ICS/LABA)	=	X	X	=#	↓
Bourbeau, 2007 [ 62 ]	3 months (ICS)	=	=	=	X	=
Reid, 2008 [ 59 ]	6 months (ICS)	↓	↑	=	=#	=
Lapperre, 2009 [ 60 ]	6 months (ICS)	=	=	=	↓	↓
	6 months (ICS/LABA)	=	=	=	↓	↓
	30 months (ICS)	=	=	↑	↓	↓
	30 months (ICS/LABA)	=	=	↓	↓	↑

=: no change; ↑: increase; ↓: decrease; X: not measured. LABA: long-acting β-agonist. ^#: trend for reduced mast cell numbers without reaching statistical significance.