Table 2.
Clinical and economic burden of severe asthma during the 1-year follow-up period
| All patients with severe asthma | Patients with severe asthma stratified by eosinophil counts | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| < 300 cells/µL | ≥ 300 cells/µL | ||
| N = 212 | n = 33 | n = 23 | |
| New prescriptions, n (%) | |||
| OCS | 23 (11) | 5 (15) | 2 (9) |
| SABA | 138 (65) | 20 (61) | 11 (48) |
| Physician visits, mean (SD) | 7 (6) | 10 (8) | 10 (7) |
| Respiratory specialist referral, n (%) | 20 (9) | 4 (12) | 4 (17) |
| Number of laboratory tests, mean (SD) | 18 (36) | 34 (51) | 46 (51) |
| Number of sick notes, mean (SD) | 0.3 (1.1) | 0.5 (1.6) | 0.3 (0.7) |
| Physician billing [Can $], mean (SD) | 369 (373) | 517 (396) | 620 (646) |
Can $ Canadian $, OCS oral corticosteroid, SABA short-acting β2-agonist, SD standard deviation