Table 3.
Clinical Outcomes After Taking Long-Term Antibiotics for Asthma: Controller Medication Use, Asthma Control, Severe Exacerbations and Self-Rated Quality of Life Improvement
| Outcome | Baseline | Follow-Up | P-value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asthma Treatments | |||
| Taking inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), n (%) | 69 (68.3) | 35 (34.7) | <0.0001 |
| Low dose ICS, n | 67 (66.3) | 34 (33.7) | <0.0001 |
| Medium dose ICS, n | 2 (2.0) | 1 (1.0) | 0.99 |
| High dose ICS, n | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 |
| Taking LABA and/or LAMA, n (%) | 70 (69.3) | 45 (44.6) | <0.001 |
| Taking Leukotriene receptor antagonist, n (%) | 63 (62.4) | 48 (47.5) | <0.05 |
| Taking a biologic, n (%) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.0) | 1 |
| Taking theophylline, n (%) | 1 (1.0) | 2 (2.0) | 0.99 |
| Taking chronic oral corticosteroids, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 |
| Asthma Control Test, mean score (Sd) | 12.2 (4.5) | 20.6 (3.9) | <0.0001** |
| Median, 25%ile-75%ile | 11 (9–15) | 21 (19–24) | <0.0001† |
| Well controlled (ACT score≥20), n (%) | 10 (9.9) | 71 (70.3) | <0.0001 |
| Sub-optimally controlled (16–19), n (%) | 12 (11.9) | 1 (15.8) | 0.004 |
| Severely uncontrolled (≤15), n (%) | 79 (78.2) | 14 (13.9) | <0.0001 |
| One or more severe exacerbations in the previous 4 weeks, n (%)¶ | 51 (50.5) | 18 (17.8) | <0.0001 |
| One or more oral steroid bursts >3d, n (%) | 48 (47.5) | 18 (17.8) | <0.0001 |
| One or more hospitalizations for asthma, n (%) | 19 (18.8) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
| Quality-of-life improvement self-assessment at follow-up | |||
| Unchanged | 13 (12.9) | ||
| Some better | 21 (20.8) | ||
| Much better | 26 (25.7) | ||
| Very much better | 41 (40.6) |
Notes: *Fishers Exact test unless indicated otherwise. **Paired t-test. †Mann–Whitney U-test. ¶Subcategories sum to >73 because a severe exacerbation may include both subcategories.