Table 2

Airway hyperresponsiveness, sputum eosinophils and exhaled nitric oxide (NO) levels during and after steroid and placebo treatment

BaselineWeek 2Week 4Washout
Steroid group
 PC20 (mg/ml)0.91 (1.62)3.19 (1.54)2-150 3.67 (1.05)2-150 0.93 (1.50)2-151
 Eosinophils (%)2.85 (2.46)0.68 (0.94)2-150 0.44 (0.56)2-150 8.14 (7.58)2-151
 NO (ppb)6.30 (3.34)1.52 (1.28)2-150 1.43 (0.86)2-150 5.22 (4.20)2-151
Placebo group
 PC20 (mg/ml)0.52 (1.38)0.64 (1.21)0.59 (1.86)0.66 (1.26)
 Eosinophils (%) 4.91 (8.98)4.62 (6.04)5.74 (5.25)8.69 (9.87)
 NO (ppb)7.47 (4.37)7.27 (5.38)5.97 (3.42)7.14 (5.59)

  • PC20 expressed as geometric mean (SD) in doubling doses; sputum eosinophil counts and exhaled NO levels expressed as mean (SD).

  • ↵2-150 p<0.01 compared with baseline.

  • ↵2-151 p<0.03 compared with week 4.