Table 2.

Representative nature of cRCTs in asthma: percentage of real world patients with an asthma diagnosis who meet typical cRCT inclusion criteria

	Criterion for inclusion in respiratory cRCT	Patients with clinical asthma eligible for cRCTs,%
		Travers et al. [18]	Herland et al. [20]
Lung function diagnostic criteria outlined by GINA	Bronchodilator reversibility ≥12%	29	14.9
	Peak flow variability ≥20%	44	–
Additional inclusion criteria typically used in asthma cRCTs	Bronchodilator reversibility ≥15%	24	–
	FEV1 ≥50% and <80% of predicted	39	–
	FEV1 ≥50% and <85% of predicted	–	37.1
	Regular inhaled corticosteroid use	52	3.3
	Nonsmoker or <10 pack-years of exposure to cigarette	71	5.4
	Active symptoms or use of rescue drugs	80	4.5
	FEV1 ≥50% predicted	88	–
	No comorbidities	–	9.6

cRCT classical randomized controlled trial, FEV ₁ forced expiratory volume in 1 s, GINA Global Initiative for Asthma

(Adapted from GINA [3], Travers et al. [18], and Herland et al. [20])