TABLE 5.
Demographics and clinical characteristics of patients with asthma in groups of biologic drugs.
| No biologics | Omalizumab | Anti-IL-5 biologics* | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 59 (54.1) | 13 (11.9) | 37 (34.0) | |
| Age, years | 63.0 (51.0–72.0) | 55.0 (46.5–65.0) | 70.0 (59.5–74.5) | NS |
| Female/male, n (%) | 25 (42.3)/34 (57.6) | 8 (61.5)/5 (38.4) | 28 (77.7)/8 (22.3) | NS |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 23.3 (21.5–25.5) | 24.2 (21.2–25.5) | 23.0 (20.3–24.2) | NS |
| Chronic sinusitis, n (%) | 13 (22.0) | 0 (0) | 10 (27.7) | NS |
| ICS dose (μg/d) | 1,000 (800–1,000) | 1,000 (800–1,350) | 1,000 (800–1,000) | NS |
| Oral corticosteroids, n (%) | 7 (11.8) | 8 (61.5)† | 18 (48.6)† | <0.0001 |
| Log total IgE, IU/L | 2.3 (2.1–2.9)‡ | 1.8 (1.2–2.3) | 2.2 (2.0–2.6)‡‡ | 0.006 |
| Blood eosinophil counts ,/μL | 328 (179–559)‡‡‡ | 121 (24–225) | 428 (70–724)‡‡‡‡ | 0.0083 |
| FeNO, ppb | 25 (11–84) | 18 (10–47) | 36 (17–111) | NS |
| Sputum eosinophil ratio, % § | 2.1 (0.4–16.5) | 0.5 (0.1–5.9) | 9.1 (0.3–40.5) | NS |
| Sputum neutrophil ratio, % § | 40.6 (23.9–56.7) | 63.7 (44.3–77.4) | 34.1 (24.0–56.0) | NS |
| Deviation of sputum leukocyte subtypes, n (%) | 23 (41.0)/14 (25.0)/3 (5.3)/16 (28.5) | 0 (0)/2 (50)/1 (25) 1 (25) | 6 (50.0)/3 (25.0)/2 (16.6)/1 (8.3) | NS |
| Eosinophilic/neutrophilic/mixed/paucigranulocytic | ||||
| FEV1, % of predicted | 79.6 (21.2) | 91.1 (18.4) | 83.1 (20.4) | NS |
| FEV1/FVC, % | 68.8 (13.8) | 73.0 (17.9) | 64.8 (13.3) | NS |
| Previous annual number of asthma exacerbations, (%) | 1 (0–2) | 5 (1–8)††† | 3 (1–6)†††† | <0.0001 |
Significant p values are shown in bold. The parametric data are expressed as mean (SD); nonparametric data are expressed as median (25%–75%). ANOVA and the Kruskal–Wallis test were performed for parametric continuous variables and nonparametric variables, respectively. Categorical variables were tested by the χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate. Further exploration of the results with significant differences in the initial analyses was performed by post hoc pairwise analyses with Bonferroni correction or by the Mann–Whitney U-test as appropriate.
*, anti-IL-5 biologics, mepolizumab + benralizumab.
§, sputum neutrophil and eosinophil ratio; no biologics n = 56, omalizumab n = 4, and anti-IL-5 biologics n = 12.
Seventy-five sputum samples are obtained.
†p < 0.0001, ††p < 0.0001, †††p = 0.0001, ††††p = 0.0006; vs. no biologics.
‡p = 0.001, ‡‡p = 0.03, ‡‡‡p = 0.0007, ‡‡‡‡p = 0.04; vs. omalizumab.