TABLE 2.
Comparison of baseline and follow-up visits (delta)
| Item | Δ total | Δ SEA and COPD | Δ SEA | p-value |
| Δ of lung function | ||||
| FVC % predicted | 8 (−2–18) | 6 (−1–16) | 12 (−2–23) | 0.216 |
| FEV1 % predicted | 11 (3–22) | 11 (5–18) | 15 (−3–23) | 0.637 |
| RV % predicted | −10 (−23–6) | −11 (−24–5) | −10 (−22–12) | 0.472 |
| TLC % predicted | 0 (−6–7) | −1 (−6–5) | 0 (−6–10) | 0.128 |
| eNO ppb | −6 (−30–9) | −3 (−25–10) | −7 (−32–8) | 0.612 |
| Δ of blood gases | ||||
| PO2 mmHg | 1 (−4–8) | −2 (−5–10) | 2 (−3–7) | 0.740 |
| PCO2 mmHg | 1 (−1–2) | 0 (−1–1) | 1 (−1–3) | 0.229 |
| Δ of laboratory | ||||
| Eosinophils 103·µL−1 | −6 (−10– −4) | −6 (−10– −4) | −6 (−12– −3) | 0.571 |
| Δ of OCS therapy | ||||
| OCS dosage mg | −5 (−11–0) | −3 (−6–0) | −5 (−20– −1) | 0.070 |
| OCS therapy, n (%) | −9 (11) | −3 (7) | −6 (14) | 0.069# |
| Δ of quality-of-life scores | ||||
| QoL-VAS | 1 (0–3) | 0 (−1–3) | 2 (0–3) | 0.019 |
| ACT score | 4 (0–8) | 3 (0–6) | 6 (1–11) | 0.097 |
| Stair climbing (flights of stairs) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.274¶ |
| Annual exacerbations, mean±sd | −1.4±2.4 | −1.1±2.3 | −1.5±2.6 | 0.505 |
| Δ of subjective condition, n (%) | ||||
| Worsened | 12 (14) | 4 (11) | 8 (22) | 0.453 |
| Stable | 41 (49) | 17 (47) | 16 (44) | |
| Improved | 31 (37) | 15 (42) | 12 (33) |
Data are presented as median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. p-values were derived using t-test, if not indicated otherwise. SEA: severe eosinophilic asthma; FVC: forced vital capacity; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; RV: residual volume; TLC: total lung capacity; eNO: exhaled nitric oxide; PO2: oxygen tension; PCO2: carbon dioxide tension; OCS: oral corticosteroids; QoL-VAS: quality of life visual analogue scale; ACT: asthma control test. #: Chi squared test; ¶: Mann–Whitney U-test. Significant values are marked as bold.