Healthcare utilisation and medication
| All (382) | Belfast (95) | Brompton (99) | Leicester (79) | Manchester (109) | ||
| Unscheduled visits in preceding 12 months (n) | 4 (2–6) (372) | 5 (2–9) (91) | 4 (1–6) (99) | 4 (2–6) (79) | 3 (2–5) (103) | p=0.007 |
| Rescue steroid courses in the previous year (n) | 4 (2–6) (352) | 5 (1–6) (84) | 5 (2.75–7) (86) | 4 (2–6) (79) | 2 (0–4) (103) | p<0.001 |
| Hospital admissions in preceding 12 months (n) | 0 (0–2) (377) | 0 (0–1) (93) | 1 (0–3) (99) | 0 (0–1) (79) | 0 (0–1) (106) | p<0.001 |
| Total number of ICU admission (range) (n) | 0 Range (0–11) (379) | 0 Range (0–4) (95) | 0 Range (0–11) (99) | 0 Range (0–1) (79) | 0 Range (0–10) (106) | p=0.012 |
| Maintenance oral steroids (%) | 158 of 379 (41.7) | 32 of 95 (33.7) | 57 of 98 (58.2) | 30 of 79 (38.0) | 39 of 107 (36.4) | p=0.002 |
| Oral steroid dose (mg) (n) | 15 (10–20) (154) | 13 (6–20) (31) | 15 (10–20) (57) | 10 (7.5–15) (30) | 15 (10–30) (36) | p=0.021 |
| BDP equivalent dose (μg) (n) | 2000 (1000–2000) (362) | 1800 (1000–2000)m (93) | 2000 (2000–2000) (94) | 2000 (1600–2000) (78) | 1500 (1000–2000) (97) | p<0.001 |
| SABA use per day | 6 (4–8) (262) | 8 (4–10) (31) | 4 (6–8) (75) | 4 (2–6) (62) | 8 (4.75–10) (94) | p=0.001 |
| Theophylline (n) | 146 of 375 (37.9) | 40 of 95 (42.1%) | 52 of 97 (53.6%) | 25 of 77 (32.5%) | 29 of 106 (27.4%) | p=0.001 |
| Nebuliser use (%) | 165 of 376 (43.9) | 45 of 94 (47.9) | 64 of 97 (66.0) | 19 of 79 (24.0) | 37 of 106 (34.9) | p<0.001 |
| Steroid-sparing meds | ||||||
| None | 7 of 372 | 91 | 95 | 78 | 101 | p=0.361 |
| Methotrexate | (1.9) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Ciclosporin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Azathioprine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Anti-IgE treatment | 3 of 378 (0.8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | p=0.054 |
| PPI (%) | 111 of 360 (29.7) | 28 of 95 (29.5) | 32 of 97 (32.9) | 18 of 79 (22.8) | 33 of 107 (30.8) | p=0.498 |
| Aspirin/NSAID sensitivity (%) | 36 of 378 (9.5) | 8 of 93 (8.6) | 8 of 92 (8.7) | 10 of 76 (13.2) | 10 of 105 (9.5) | p=0.741 |
| Antihistamine (%) | 89 of 374 (23.8) | 17 of 94 (18.1) | 26 of 96 (27.1) | 16 of 78 (20.5) | 30 of 106 (28.3) | p=0.271 |
| Nasal steroids (%) | 96 of 374 (25.7) | 27 of 94 (28.7) | 24 of 96 (25.0) | 17 of 78 (21.8) | 28 of 106 (26.4) | p=0.77 |
| Leukotriene receptor antagonists (%) | 141 of 375 (37.6) | 52 of 94 (55.3) | 42 of 96 (43.8) | 25 of 79 (31.6) | 22 of 106 (20.8) | P<0.001 |
Group data (mean±SD or median (IQR) unless stated otherwise) for all subjects are presented in column 2 followed by data for individual centres. Between-centre comparisons for continuous variables were made using one-way analysis of variance or Kruksal–Wallis test (for posthoc comparisons, see text) and for categorical variables using χ2 exact testing.
Significance was taken as p<0.01.
BDP, beclomethasone dipropronate; ICU, intensive care unit; IgE, immunoglobulin E; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; PPI, proton pump inhibitor; SABA, short-acting β-agonist.