Table 2.

A summary of key clinical studies of macrolides in respiratory disease. The listed clinical trials were conducted to establish the clinical, non-antibiotic effects seen following low-dose macrolide therapy in various respiratory diseases. Abbreviations: BE, Bronchiectasis; CF, Cystic Fibrosis; COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; QoL, Quality of Life.

Author (Date)	Respiratory Disease	Type of Study	Macrolide	Dosage/Duration of Treatment	Clinical Outcomes
Kudoh et al. (1987) [7]	DPB	Observational cohort study	ERY	400 mg–600mg daily; NK	Decrease in DPB symptoms, improved survival rate and QoL
Gibson et al. (2017) [10]	Asthma	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	500 mg thrice weekly; 48 weeks	Reduced exacerbation number, improved QoL
Wong et al. (2012) [11]	BE	Randomised, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	500 mg thrice weekly; 26 weeks	Reduced exacerbation number, no effect on lung function, no improved QoL
Altenburg et al. (2013) [12]	BE	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	250 mg daily; 52 weeks	Reduced exacerbation number, improved lung function, improved symptoms and QoL
Serisier et al. (2013) [13]	BE	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	ERY	400 mg twice daily; 52 weeks	Reduced exacerbation number, improved lung function, no improved QoL, increase in macrolide-resistant bacteria, no effect on symptoms
Seemungal et al. (2008) [14]	COPD	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	ERY	250 mg twice daily; 52 weeks	Reduced number, duration and severity of exacerbations, no change in lung function
Albert et al. (2011) [15]	COPD	Randomised, Placebo controlled Trial	AZM	250 mg daily; 52 weeks	Reduced exacerbation number, prolonged time until first exacerbation, improved QoL,
Uzun et al. (2014) [16]	COPD	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	500 mg thrice weekly; 52 weeks	Reduced exacerbation frequency
Wolter et al. (2002) [17]	CF	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	250 mg daily; 12 weeks	Maintained lung function, improved QoL, reduced exacerbation number and inflammation
Saiman et al. (2003) [18]	CF	Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	250 mg (<40 kg) or 500 mg (>40 kg) thrice weekly; 24 weeks	Improved lung function, less risk of exacerbation, increased weight gain, reduced hospitalisations and antibiotic courses, improvement in physical functioning but not overall QoL
Saiman et al. (2010) [19]	CF	Multicenter Randomised, Placebo controlled, Double-blind Trial	AZM	250 mg (18–35.9 kg) or 500 mg (>or = 36 kg) thrice weekly; 24 weeks	No improvement in lung function, reduction in exacerbations, increased body weight, improvement of symptoms i.e. less cough and less productive cough