Table 1
Characteristics of patients with difficult asthma
| No. | 26 |
|---|---|
| Sex (F/M) | 19/7 |
| Mean (SD) age (range) | 38.8 (15.0) years (15–71) |
| Women | 37.9 (15.6) |
| Men | 41.0 (12.4) |
| Years symptomatic | 19.2 (15.1) |
| Atopic status | Atopic/non-atopic 20/6 |
| No. of smokers | 5 |
| Treatment: | |
| Prednisolone | n = 17 (12F/5M) |
| ICS Fluticasone (n = 20) | 2025 (1197) μg/day |
| ICS Budesonide (n = 6) | 3967 (2271) μg/day |
| Rescue β agonist MDI | 8.1 (9.9) puffs/day |
| Lung function: | |
| PEF (% predicted) | 64.2 (20.5) |
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 66.2 (21.6) |
| FEV1/FVC | 63.0 (16.4) |
| PEFV (% mean) | 67.1 (29.5) |
| β agonist response | 19.7 (median), 0–36 (range) |
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ICS = inhaled corticosteroid; MDI = multidose inhaler; PEF = peak expiratory flow; FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC = forced vital capacity; PEFV = diary card peak expiratory flow variability values are mean (SD) or median (range) where indicated.
