Table 1.

Study Selection Criteria for the Systematic Literature Review on the Use of OCS and SCS for Treatment of Asthma

Category	Inclusion Criteria	Exclusion Criteria
Population	• Pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients (≥5 yr old) with asthma of any severity and all degrees of disease control • Mixed study populations or subpopulations in which ≥85% of patients met the above criteria (apart from age criteria, which had to be met by all patients)	• Children <5 yr old with asthma • Patients who did not have asthma • Patients with ACOS • Patients with asthma during pregnancy • Mixed-study populations or subpopulations in which <85% of patients met the inclusion criteria • Studies containing <100 patients with asthma • Studies containing <500 patients with asthma, except for those reporting long-term OCS/SCS use or burden of OCS/SCS use
Intervention/comparators	• OCS, parenteral CS, or SCS	• No mention of OCS, parenteral CS, or SCS use • CS treatment in emergency department and/or in hospitalized patients with asthma only
Outcomes	• Frequency/patterns of OCS and SCS use (patient-level data) • Long-term OCS and SCS use, including Length of time (average duration) receiving long-term OCS Dosage and frequency of changing dosage	• Outcome measures not listed in the inclusion criteria • Frequency/patterns of OCS and SCS use among physicians
	• Clinical burden of OCS and SCS use: Asthma clinical features   Exacerbation history   Previous hospitalizations   Degree of asthma control (based on ACQ or ACT)   Phenotypes (eosinophilic, allergic, etc.) Comorbidities and complications for OCS and SCS users:    Diabetes/metabolic    Bone (e.g., osteoporosis)    Cardiovascular disease    Psychiatric (e.g., depression)    Others as available
	• Economic burden of OCS and SCS use:  Healthcare resource use, including hospitalizations and doctor and emergency department visits  Costs (including direct and indirect costs), both asthma-related and all costs  Cost consequences of prolonged OCS and SCS use
Study design	• Observational studies, including prospective and retrospective cohort studies, and cross-sectional analyses • Prescription database analyses • Economic analyses • Patient, parent/guardian, and HCP surveys	• Systematic and narrative reviews • Case reports and case series • Comments, letters, and editorials • Animal/in vitro studies • Meta-analyses/pooled analyses • Clinical trials • Asthma phenotyping analyses • Treatment guidelines • Patient education studies • Studies of healthcare management (e.g., physician prescribing preferences, physician/hospital management approaches, and care quality evaluation)
Time period	• January 1, 2007, to December 4, 2017	• Studies published before January 1, 2007, or after December 4, 2017
Other criteria	• Studies published in English • Limited to humans	• Non–English language publications • Conference abstracts

Definition of abbreviations: ACOS = asthma–chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome; ACQ = Asthma Control Questionnaire; ACT = Asthma Control Test; HCP = healthcare professional; OCS = oral corticosteroids; SCS = systemic corticosteroids.