Table 2.
Clinical, functional, and laboratory data at baseline and at 3 and 6 months of treatment
| Variables | BaselineMean (SD) | 3 months Mean (SD) | 6 months Mean (SD) | p* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACT | 13.9 (4.1) | 20.1 (3.7) | 21 (2.7) | < 0.001 |
| Patients with controlled asthma (ACT≥20) | 2 (4.8) | 24 (57.1) | 34 (81) | < 0.001 |
| No. of ED visits per quarter, median (interquartile range) | 1 (IR:0.7) | 0 (IR:0.75) | 0 (IR:0) | < 0.001 |
| Corticosteroid-dependent, n (%) | 16 (40%) | 15 (35.7%) | 8 (19%) | 0.008 |
| Inhaled budesonide (or equivalent) dose, μg/day | 956 (475) | 802 (415) | 714 (356) | 0.001 |
| Oral prednisone dose, mg/day | 19.6 (9) | 7.5 (8.6) | 5 (7.9) | 0.007 |
| Cycles of OCS per quarter, median (interquartile range) | 1.5 (IR:1.25) | 0 (IR:1) | 0 (IR:0) | < 0.001 |
| FEV1 mL | 1429.4 (475) | 1680 (481) | 1721 (610) | < 0.001 |
| FEV1% | 64.3 (9.3) | 73.1 (9.1) | 76 (12) | < 0.001 |
| FeNO | 61.5 (23.9) | 30.6 (14.6) | 27.8 (14.9) | < 0.001 |
| Blood eosinophil count, cells/μL | 757.2 (278) | 18.9 (18) | 15.2 (13.6) | < 0.001 |
* Comparison between data at baseline and at 6 months
Abbreviations: ACT Asthma Control Test, BD Bronchodilator, BMI Body mass index, ED Emergency department, FeNO Fractional exhaled nitric oxide, FEV1 Forced expiratory volume in 1 s, OCS Oral corticosteroids, SD Standard deviation