Exacerbation numbers by tertile of response to prednisolone and salbutamol
| Exacerbation no/patient/50 weeks | p Value | ||
| Mepolizumab | Placebo | ||
| Change in FEV1 after prednisolone (ml) | |||
| <−50 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 0.63 |
| −50 to 220 | 2.1 | 5.0 | 0.02 |
| >220 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 0.02 |
| Change in FEV1 after salbutamol (ml) | |||
| <50 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 0.02 |
| 50 to 150 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 0.11 |
| >150 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 0.85 |
FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s.
Exacerbation numbers per patient per 50 weeks in patients treated with mepolizumab (n=29) and placebo (n=32) for 50 weeks by tertile of response to prednisolone 0.5 mg/kg up to maximum of 40 mg/day given for 14 days and by tertile of response to inhaled salbutamol 200 μg. The response to prednisolone represents the change in post-bronchodilator FEV1 measured at the same time of day before and 1–2 h after the last dose of prednisolone. FEV1 was measured before and 20 min after inhaled salbutamol. The values in the table represent the improvement in FEV1 before prednisolone and before randomisation to mepolizumab or placebo.