General characteristics and main differences between group of patients that did not use SABA as rescue medication and the control group that did use SABA at the start of study period
Variables
SABA-free (n = 101)
SABA (n = 94)
p value
Age (yrs mean ± SD)
31.5 ± 18.4
34.8 ± 17.7
0.78
Male/Female
52/49
41/53
0.574
History of asthma (yrs mean ± SD)
18.2 ± 11.4
17.6 ± 10.4
0.81
ACT (mean ± SD)
18.2 ± 2.7
15.7 ± 6.4
0.067
FEV1% predicted
80.2 ± 10.4
79.2 ± 6.1
0.3547
FEV1 change post bronchodilator (%)
10.8 ± 11.2
14.2 ± 11.19
0.088
Hospital/ED visit 12 months prior (n)
19
18
0.347
Subjects with regular ICS (n)
57
61
0.0497*
ICS dose (mcg) mean (95% CI)
162.52 (58–347)
118.57 (63–214)
0.0512
Poorly controlled asthma (ACT < 16%)
18
16
0.543
Daily maximum of rescue medication mean (95% CI)
0.96 (0.45–1.21)
1.05 (0.1–1.9)
0.81
SABA: short-acting β2-agonist; yrs: years; SD: standard deviation; ACT: asthma control test; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; ED: emergency department; ICS: inhaled corticosteroid; CI: confidence intervals. *p value of < 0.05 is considered statistically significant
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval
The study was approved by the De Montfort University Institutional Review Board Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC/019-68) and complies with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent to participate
Informed consent to participate in this study was obtained from all participants.
Consent to publication
Not applicable.
Availability of data and materials
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher. However, data sets will be anonymised to maintain patient confidentiality.
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