Table 3. Characteristic of randomized controlled trials included.

Reference	Study Design	No. of Subjects	Population	Age	drug	dosing	Outcomes	Follow-up	Exacerbation definition
FitzGerald J M 2016[37]	multi-center, double-blind parallel	1205	severe,uncontrolled, eosinophilic asthma	12–75	Benralizumab	Fourteen SC doses of 30mg or Eight SC doses of 30mg or placebo for 56 weeks	Asthma exacerbations; FEV1; ACQ-6; AQLQ	56 weeks	An asthma exacerbation was defined as a worsening of asthma that led to one of the following: (1) use of systemic corticosteroids for 3 days or more or a temporary increase in a stable, background dosage of oral corticosteroids; (2) an emergency department or urgent care visit (<24 h) due to asthma that required systemic corticosteroids; or (3) an inpatient admission to hospital (≥24 h) due to asthma.

FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; PEF, peak expiratory flow; histamine PC20, provocative concentration of histamine required to cause a 20% fall in FEV1; JACQ, Juniper Asthma Control Questionnaire; AQLQ, the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire; ACQ, Asthma Control Questionnaire; FeNO, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide; SABAs: short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs); SC: subcutaneous injections; IV, intravenous; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; OCS, oral corticosteroid; NM: not mentioned