Table 3.
Reduction in emergency room visits, hospitalization, use of oral corticosteroids, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)/long-acting β-agonists (LABA), and short-acting β-agonists (SABA) during treatment
| Baseline | 16 weeks | 1 year | 4 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency room visits | ||||
| No visits | 0 | 32 (49.2) | 52 (80.0) | 59 (90.8) |
| ≤2×/year | – | 33 (50.8) | 13 (20.0) | 6 (9.2) |
| ≥3×/year | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilcoxon: p† | – | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Hospitalization | ||||
| Yes | 31 (47.7) | 5 (7.7) | 3 (4.6) | 1 (1.5) |
| McNemar: p† | – | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Oral corticosteroids | ||||
| No | – | 36 (55.4) | 51 (78.5) | 54 (83%) |
| ≥50% reduction | – | 28 (43.1) | 13 (20) | 10 (15.4) |
| Short | 59 (90.8) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daily | 6 (9.2) | 1 (1.5) | 1 (1.5) | 1 (1.5) |
| Wilcoxon: p† | – | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| ICS/LABA | ||||
| Max. dose | 65 | 42 (64.6) | 36 (55.4) | 25 (38.5) |
| ≥50% reduction | – | 23 (35.4) | 29 (44.6) | 37 (56.9) |
| Stopped | – | 0 (0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (4.6) |
| Wilcoxon: p‡ | – | – | 0.014 | 0.000 |
| SABA | ||||
| No | – | 16 (24.6) | 24 (36.9) | 30 (46.2) |
| ≤2×/week | – | 11 (16.9) | 14 (21.5) | 23 (35.4) |
| ≥3×/week | 10 (15.4) | 13 (20) | 11 (16.9) | 2 (3.1) |
| Daily | 55 (84.6) | 25 (38.5) | 16 (24.6) | 10 (15.4) |
| Wilcoxon: p‡ | – | – | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Numbers (%) of patients are shown. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test or the McNemar χ2 test was used to determine statistically significant differences (p < 0.05).
†
p values were compared with values at baseline
‡
16 weeks.