Peripheral blood leucocyte counts (×106/ml) in normal (n = 8) and allergic asthmatic (n = 8) subjects four hours after intravenous administration of 144 mg methylprednisolone suleptanate (100 mg methylprednisolone equivalents) and placebo (saline)
| Placebo | Methylprednisolone | |
| Normal subjects: | ||
| Total leucocytes | 5.9 (5.0–8.3) | 8.8 (5.5–12.2) |
| Neutrophils | 3.1 (2.5–4.1) | 8.4 (4.1–10.5)** |
| Eosinophils | 0.08 (0.0–0.63) | 0.01 (0.0–0.07) |
| Monocytes | 0.39 (0.05–0.63) | 0.07 (0.06-0.07) |
| Lymphocytes | 2.5 (1.73–3.82) | 1.2 (0.3–1.8) |
| Asthmatic subjects: | ||
| Total leucocytes | 6.2 (4.2–10.3) | 7.9 (4.9–11.3) |
| Neutrophils | 3.7 (1.6–6.6) | 7.0 (4.2–9.9)1-150 |
| Eosinophils | 0.09 (0.0–0.25) | 0.01 (0.01–0.10) |
| Monocytes | 0.19 (0.05–0.41) | 0.05 (0.01–0.10)1-150 |
| Lymphocytes | 2.3 (1.9–2.4) | 0.82 (0.22–1.36)1-150 |
Values are arithmetic mean (range).
↵1-150 p<0.02, **p<0.01 versus placebo (Wilcoxon). There were no significant differences between the subject groups after placebo. Methyprednisolone significantly increased neutrophil counts in both subject groups and significantly reduced monocyte and lymphocyte counts in the asthmatic subjects.