Table I.
Features of the sample. Severe asthma was defined according to ATS criteria (4, 14). Data represent the mean ± SD or the frequency (%), unless otherwise specified.
| Mild-to-Moderate n = 72 |
Severe Asthma n = 89 |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years | 11 ± 3 | 11 ± 3 | 0.879 |
| Male | 40 (56) | 49 (55) | 0.571 |
| Caucasian | 38 (53) | 24 (27) | 0.001 |
| African American | 27 (38) | 56 (63) | |
| Other | |||
| Emergency room visit (previous year) | 22 (31) | 64 (72) | < 0.001 |
| Hospitalization (previous year) | 6 (8) | 49 (55) | < 0.001 |
| History of intubation (ever) | 2 (3) | 22 (25) | 0.002 |
| Parental history of asthma | 41 (58) | 62 (70) | 0.022 |
| History of atopic dermatitis | 35 (49) | 54 (61) | 0.114 |
| History of pneumonia | 30 (42) | 57 (64) | 0.001 |
| History of sinusitis | 26 (31) | 35 (39) | 0.255 |
| History of gastroesophageal reflux | 8 (11) | 31 (35) | 0.001 |
| Daily ICS dose (µg fluticasone equivalent per day) | 227 ± 211 | 893 ± 225 | < 0.001 |
| No ICS | 18 (25) | 0 | < 0.001 |
| Montelukast | 38 (53) | 88 (99) | < 0.001 |
| ICS + LABA | 31 (43) | 77 (87) | < 0.001 |
| Daily short-acting bronchodilators | 17 (24) | 54 (61) | < 0.001 |
| Daily oral corticosteroids | 0 | 13 (15) | < 0.001 |
| Number of aero-allergen skin prick responses (out of 12), median (range)1 | 1 (0 – 9) | 4 (0 – 12) | < 0.001 |
| Serum IgE (kU/L), median (range)1 | 142 (2 – 3484) | 344 (3 – 5458) | < 0.001 |
| Blood eosinophils (%), median (range)1 | 3.9 (0.3 – 23.8) | 4.4 (0.1 – 23.6) | 0.684 |
| Baseline FEV1 (% predicted) | 94 ± 14 | 85 ± 21 | 0.002 |
| Best FEV1 (% predicted) | 104 ± 14 | 98 ±19 | 0.021 |
| Methacholine (PC20), median (range)1 | 2.1 (0.1 – 24.3) | 0.9 (0.1 – 23.1) | 0.047 |
1
Data were logarithmically transformed prior to analysis