Table 5.
Numbers (%) of participants with one or more exacerbations of asthma according to severity and difference (95% confidence interval) between treatment with salmeterol and increased dose of inhaled steroid
| Any (mild, moderate, or severe) exacerbation
|
Moderate or severe exacerbation
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salmeterol | Inhaled steroid | Difference | Salmeterol | Inhaled steroid | Difference | ||
| Reference | |||||||
| Greening2 | 78/220 (35) | 68/206 (33) | −2.45 (−11.46 to 6.57) | 19/220 (9) | 18/206 (9) | 0.10 (−5.25 to 5.45) | |
| Ind8 | 60/171 (35) | 60/165 (36) | 1.28 (−8.97 to 11.53) | 47/171 (27) | 51/165 (31) | 3.42 (−6.30 to 13.15) | |
| Woolcock9 | 49/243 (20) | 50/251 (20) | −0.24 (−7.31 to 6.82) | 40/243 (16) | 42/251 (17) | 0.27 (−6.29 to 6.84) | |
| Kelsen10 | 37/239 (15) | 42/244 (17) | 1.73 (−4.86 to 8.33) | 18/239 (8) | 26/244 (11) | 3.12 (−1.99 to 8.24) | |
| Murray11 | 40/260 (15) | 44/254 (17) | 1.94 (−4.46 to 8.33) | 19/260 (11) | 31/254 (12) | 1.05 (−4.50 to 6.61) | |
| Kalberg12 | 20/246 (8) | 32/242 (13) | 5.09 (−0.37 to 10.56) | 15/246 (6) | 27/242 (11) | 5.06 (0.09 to 10.03) | |
| Condemi13 | 21/221 (10) | 31/216 (14) | 4.85 (−1.22 to 10.92) | 19/221 (9) | 26/216 (12) | 3.44 (−2.26 to 9.14) | |
| Van Noord14 | 0/30 | 2/30 (7) | 6.67 (−3.33 to 16.67) | NA | NA | NM | |
| Van Noord14 | 15/109 (14) | 13/105 (12) | −1.38 (−10.41 to 7.65) | NA | NA | NM | |
| Vermetten15 | 9/113 (8) | 17/120 (14) | 6.20 (−1.79 to 14.19) | NA | NA | NM | |
| Pooled results | |||||||
| Fixed effect | 2.73 (0.43 to 5.04) | 2.42 (0.24 to 4.60) | |||||
| Random effects | 2.73 (0.43 to 5.04) | 2.42 (0.24 to 4.60) | |||||
| Heterogeneity statistic; df (P value) | 5.477; 9 (0.79) | 2.687; 6 (0.85) | |||||
NA Not applicable: study treatment duration only three months. NM Not measured or available for this study.