Relative incidence of oral steroid prescribing in active asthma patients with sufficient follow-up after the new oral β-blocker prescription
| β-blocker | Steroid | Time period | Patients with oral steroids (%) | Incidence rate ratio (95% CI) | p Value |
| Any β-blocker (n=367) | Rescue | Baseline | 3.4 (0.9) | 1.00 | |
| 0–2 weeks | 3.0 (0.8) | 0.87 (0.25 to 2.99) | 0.826 | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 3.0 (0.8) | 0.89 (0.26 to 2.97) | 0.845 | ||
| >4 weeks | 2.8 (0.8) | 0.80 (0.39 to 1.64) | 0.539 | ||
| Any | Baseline | 4.8 (1.3) | 1.00 | ||
| 0–2 weeks | 9.0 (2.5) | 1.86 (0.88 to 3.96) | 0.105 | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 9.0 (2.5) | 1.85 (0.87 to 3.93) | 0.111 | ||
| >4 weeks | 5.8 (1.6) | 1.19 (0.69 to 2.04) | 0.533 | ||
| Cardioselective (n=171) | Rescue | Baseline | 1.8 (1.1) | 1.00 | |
| 0–2 weeks | 2.0 (1.2) | 1.07 (0.23 to 5.03) | 0.936 | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 2.0 (1.2) | 1.12 (0.25 to 5.02) | 0.881 | ||
| >4 weeks | 1.8 (1.1) | 0.96 (0.38 to 2.43) | 0.934 | ||
| Any | Baseline | 2.8 (1.6) | 1.00 | ||
| 0–2 weeks | 7.0 (4.1) | 2.43 (0.82 to 6.04) | 0.055 | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 6.0 (3.5) | 2.17 (0.83 to 5.46) | 0.117 | ||
| >4 weeks | 4.0 (2.3) | 1.42 (0.71 to 2.83) | 0.323 | ||
| Non-selective (n=196) | Rescue | Baseline | 1.6 (0.8) | 1.00 | |
| 0–2 weeks | 1.0 (0.5) | 0.64 (0.08 to 5.01) | 0.668 | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 1.0 (0.5) | 0.62 (0.08 to 4.91) | 0.654 | ||
| >4 weeks | 1.0 (0.5) | 0.61 (0.19 to 1.94) | 0.407 | ||
| Any | Baseline | 2.0 (1.0) | 1.00 | ||
| 0–2 weeks | 2.0 (1.0) | 1.00 (0.23 to 4.47) | 0.995 | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 3.0 (1.5) | 1.45 (0.40 to 5.21) | 0.569 | ||
| >4 weeks | 1.8 (0.9) | 0.87 (0.36 to 2.12) | 0.757 |
Figures shown for baseline and >4 weeks are the mean number of patients prescribed oral steroids per 2 weeks.