Symptoms, quality of life, lung function and airway inflammation in participants with asthma
| Variable | Prevention (participants with asthma=6) | Control (participants with asthma=15) | p Value |
| Symptoms in the last 12 months | |||
| Wheeze on exertion | 6 (100.0%) | 13 (86.7%) | 1.00 |
| Wheeze affecting speech | 2 (33.3%) | 5 (33.3%) | 1.00 |
| >4 wheeze attacks | 4 (66.7%) | 5 (33.3%) | 0.36 |
| Sleep affected >1 night a week | 1 (16.7%) | 2 (12.5%) | 0.91 |
| Asthma quality-of-life scores | 5.06 (4.00–6.10) | 6.01 (5.60–6.50) | 0.07 |
| FEV1, % predicted | 85.67 (17.39) | 97.55 (12.96) | 0.11 |
| FVC, % predicted | 91.80 (12.43) | 96.50 (17.03) | 0.55 |
| FEV1/FVC, % predicted | 94.71 (16.23) | 101.75 (7.95) | 0.20 |
| PEFR, % predicted | 95.15 (21.77) | 100.88 (17.24) | 0.53 |
| FeNO, ppb | 21.38 (1.5) | 33.86 (2.13) | 0.10 |
| Sputum eosinophils, % | 3.0 (1.8–3.5) | 1.8 (1.1–5.9) | 1.00 |
| Sputum neutrophils, % | 9.5 (2.9–16.2) | 5.7 (1.6–15.8) | 0.47 |
| Sputum epithelial cells, % | 2.8 (1.15–6.8) | 5.3 (2.9–9.9) | 0.08 |
Numbers are frequencies (%), means (SD) or median (IQR).
p Values are Pearsons χ2 (frequencies) or two-sample t test (means) except for quality of life and induced sputum results (Mann–Whitney U test). Six and 14 participants with asthma in the prevention and control groups underwent spirometry and FeNO (geometric mean and SD reported). Four and 10 of them in the prevention and control groups underwent methacholine challenge, and 4 and 7 were able to provide an induced sputum sample.
DRS, dose response slope; FeNO, exhaled nitric oxide.