TABLE 1.
Clinical characteristics of patients who weaned off maintenance oral steroids for asthma, patients who needed to start biologic therapy and patients who were unable to wean
| Weaned off mOCS for asthma (n=25) | Started on a biologic (n=9) | Unable to wean/poor engagement (n=8) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56 (51–71) | 53 (47–62) | 49 (40–63) | 0.32 |
| Baseline daily dose (mg) | 10 (5–18) | 10 (9–17) | 25 (15–40) | 0.008 |
| Duration (months) | 60 (12–90) Range: 4–492 |
36 (14–192) Range: 7–480 |
66 (27–120) Range: 12–204 |
0.81 |
| Total OCS (g) | 11 (4–40) | 18 (5–50) | 57 (14–99) | 0.13 |
| Dose at the end of data collection (mg) | 4 (0–5)# | 6 (5–10) | 10 (10–23) | <0.0001 |
| ACQ6 at baseline | 2.66 (2.20–3.46) | 1.58 (0.87–2.33) | 3.40 (1.13–3.83) | 0.12 |
| ACQ6 end | 2.63 (1.63–3.62) | 3.67 (1.16–4.42) | 3.17 (2.00–4.66) | 0.64 |
| Blood eosinophils baseline (cells per µL) | 100 (100–200) | 100 (0.0–200) | 100 (25–500) | 0.65 |
| Blood eosinophils end (cells per µL) | 200 (100–250) | 200 (75–700) | 200 (150–250) | 0.80 |
| FENO baseline (ppb) | 25 (9–33) | 24 (12–50) | ¶ | 0.79 |
| FENO end (ppb) | 18 (13–32) | 15 (11–69) | ¶ | 0.89 |
| GORD | 14 (56%) | 5 (56%) | 2 (25%) | 0.39 |
| Breathing pattern disorder | 15 (60%) | 4 (44%) | 4 (50%) | 0.69 |
| Anxiety/depression | 11 (44%) | 3 (33%) | 4 (50%) | 0.83 |
| BMI >30 kg·m−2 | 15 (60%) | 3 (33%) | 5 (63%) | 0.39 |
| Smoking status | 4 (16%) current smokers 4 (16%) ex-smokers |
2 (22%) ex-smokers | 3 (38%) ex-smokers |
Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or n (%), unless otherwise stated. Results in bold are statistically significant. Analysis completed using ANOVA, Mann–Whitney U-test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. ACQ6: asthma control questionnaire; BMI: body mass index; FENO: fractional exhaled nitric oxide; GORD: gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; mOCS: maintenance oral corticosteroid; OCS: oral corticosteroid. #: OCS dose in these patients is for adrenal insufficiency. ¶: Only available for two patients.