| Study | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
| Bateman 2008 | Comparison of 2 doses of ciclesonide; not placebo controlled; uncontrolled asthma at baseline |
| Boushey 2005 | Budesonide vs LTRA for mild persistent asthma |
| Brand 2011 | ICS stopped during run‐in, therefore no baseline ICS. |
| Bullard 1996 | Systemic corticosteroids vs placebo for COPD, not asthma exacerbations |
| Clearie 2010 | Stopped ICS for 2 weeks before trial. Not focused on exacerbations |
| Condemi 1999 | Low‐ vs high‐dose ICS; not placebo controlled; uncontrolled asthma at baseline |
| Connett 1993 | No use of ICS at baseline |
| Currie 2003 | Salmeterol‐fluticasone vs fluticasone for uncontrolled asthma (not exacerbations) |
| De Benedictis 2005 | Nebulised fluticasone vs budesonide; not placebo controlled; no use of ICS at baseline |
| Devidayal 1999 | Nebulised budesonide vs oral prednisone; not placebo controlled; no use of ICS at baseline |
| Farber 2016 | Not an RCT; commentary |
| FitzGerald 2000 | Use of systemic corticosteroids first; not placebo controlled |
| Gilbert 2018 | Wrong design; commentary, not original RCT |
| Greening 1994 | BDP + salmeterol vs high‐dose BDP; not placebo controlled; uncontrolled asthma at baseline |
| GSK 2005 | Not placebo controlled; uncontrolled asthma at baseline |
| Hanania 2020 | No short‐term increase in ICS dose in response to an exacerbation |
| Hedlin 1999 | Inhaled budesonide vs oral betamethasone; not placebo controlled |
| Heinig 1999 | Budesonide vs fluticasone; not placebo controlled; uncontrolled asthma at baseline |
| Karpel 2007 | Severe persistent asthma (not exacerbations); participants on OCS at baseline |
| La Rosa 1997 | Salbutamol‐flunisolide vs salbutamol; not placebo controlled |
| Lee‐Wong 2002 | Inhaled flunisolide vs systemic corticosteroids following IV corticosteroids; not placebo controlled |
| Lemanske 2010 | 3 step‐up options and no stable study arm. ICS increased, but not in response to exacerbation. |
| Leuppi 2002 | Unstable dose of ICS (dose reduction) before exacerbation |
| Levy 1996 | Fluticasone vs oral prednisolone; not placebo controlled; not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Manjra 2000 | Nebulised fluticasone vs oral prednisolone; not placebo controlled; not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Matz 2001 | Salmeterol‐fluticasone vs high‐dose fluticasone for stable asthma (not exacerbations) |
| McKeever 2018 | Study design; pragmatic, unblinded trial with no placebo control |
| Milani 2004 | No use of ICS at baseline |
| Nana 1998 | Inhaled budesonide vs oral prednisolone; not placebo controlled |
| NCT02995733 | Participants not blinded to exacerbation strategy |
| Nuhoglu 2001 | No use of ICS at baseline |
| O'Connor 2010 | ICS given, but not in response to exacerbation. |
| Papi 2022 | ICS given, but not in response to an exacerbation. All participants were on maintenance ICS, and the study included groups where the dose was kept stable or increased. However, the inhalers were used as a general rescue medication and preventative measure before exercise, not as part of an action plan to prevent exacerbations. |
| Pedersen 2009 | ICS given, but not in response to exacerbation. |
| Prentice 2017 | Wrong design; commentary on previous version of this review |
| Razi 2008 | 2 dosing regimens of nebulised budesonide; not placebo controlled |
| Rodrigo 1998 | No use of ICS at baseline |
| Rodrigo 2005 | Inhaled fluticasone vs IV hydrocortisone; no use of ICS at baseline |
| Schuh 2000 | Inhaled fluticasone vs oral prednisolone; not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Schuh 2006 | Inhaled fluticasone vs oral prednisolone; not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Sekerel 2005 | Not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Singhi 1999 | Not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Svedmyr 1995 | ICS started at onset of URTI but not a confirmed asthma exacerbation; no ICS use at baseline |
| Volovitz 1998 | Inhaled budesonide vs oral prednisone; not placebo controlled; no ICS use at baseline |
| Weinberger 2016 | Wrong design; commentary on evidence, not primary study |
| Wilson 1990 | Not all participants on ICS at baseline |
| Yousef 2012 | No stable ICS arm |
BDP: beclomethasone dipropionate COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ICS: inhaled corticosteroids IV: intravenous LTRA: leukotriene receptor agonists OCS: oral corticosteroids RCT: randomised controlled trial URTI: upper respiratory tract infection