Figures
- FIGURE 1
Flowchart of patient inclusion. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PS: propensity score; SEA: severe eosinophilic asthma.
- FIGURE 2
Change of parameters from baseline to follow-up by group. SEA: severe eosinophilic asthma; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ACT: asthma control test; EOS: eosinophils; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; RV: residual volume; QoL-VAS: quality of life – visual analogue scale; PO2: oxygen tension.
Tables
- TABLE 1
Baseline demographics
Item All SEA and COPD SEA p-value Subjects 84 42 (50) 42 (50) Age years 61 (55–66) 61 (55–65) 61 (55–66) 0.917 Sex Female 34 (41) 17 (41) 17 (41) 1.000 Male 50 (59) 25 (59) 25 (59) BMI kg·m−2 29 (25–34) 28 (25–34) 29 (25–34) 0.512 Therapy Anti-IL-5 (mepolizumab) 35 (42) 23 (55) 12 (29) 0.015# Anti-IL-5Rα (benralizumab) 49 (58) 19 (45) 30 (71) OCS 43 (51) 23 (55) 20 (48) 0.513# ICS, medium–high dose 100 (100) 42 (100) 42 (100) 1.000# IL-5 responder 64 (76) 32 (76) 32 (76) 1.000# Smoking Never 28 (33) 0 (0) 28 (67) <0.001# Former 56 (67) 42 (100) 14 (33) Pack-years 20 (9–30) 20 (15–30) 7 (4–9) <0.001 PFT DLCO % predicted 79 (72–97) 74 (70–90) 94 (75–101) 0.116 KCO % predicted 107 (89–115) 93 (80–112) 112 (105–117) 0.005 FEV1/FVC post-BDT 66 (54–73) 66 (58–73) 68 (51–73) 0.785 Positive bronchodilator test¶ 21 (38) 13 (43) 8 (31) 0.333# Total IgE IU·mL−1 177 (74–751) 446 (87–1442) 126 (41–259) 0.040 CT imaging, mean±sd+ Total lung volume mL 5878±1479 6041±1461 5681±1515 0.427 LAA-950 cc 188±379 271±494 88±101 0.113 LAA-950 % 2.8±5.2 3.9±6.7 1.4±1.6 0.099 Comorbidities Obesity (BMI ≥30 kg m−2) 33 (39) 36 (38) 17 (41) 0.823# CRSwNP 2 (2) 1 (2) 1 (2) 1.000# CRSsNP 14 (17) 4 (10) 10 (24) 0.079# ASA intolerance 4 (5) 2 (5) 2 (5) 1.000# Atopic dermatitis 4 (5) 1 (2) 3 (7) 0.305# Cardiovascular diseases 11 (13) 6 (14) 5 (12) 0.746# Diabetes 3 (4) 0 (0) 3 (7) 0.078# Reflux 5 (6) 2 (5) 3 (7) 0.645# Allergic rhinitis 2 (2) 0 (0) 2 (5) 0.152# Data are presented as n (%) or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. p-values were derived using t-test, if not indicated otherwise. SEA: severe eosinophilic asthma; BMI: body mass index; IL: interleukin; OCS: oral corticosteroids; ICS: inhaled corticosteroids; PFT: pulmonary function testing; DLCO: diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide; KCO: carbon monoxide transfer coefficient; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; BDT: bronchodilator test; CT: computed tomography; LAA: low-attenuation areas; CRSwNP: chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps; CRSsNP: chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps; ASA: acetylsalicylic acid. #: Chi squared test; ¶: data from n=56 patients available; +: data from n=45 patients available. Significant values are marked as bold.
- TABLE 2
Comparison of baseline and follow-up visits (delta)
Item Δ total Δ SEA and COPD Δ SEA p-value Δ of lung function FVC % predicted 8 (−2–18) 6 (−1–16) 12 (−2–23) 0.216 FEV1 % predicted 11 (3–22) 11 (5–18) 15 (−3–23) 0.637 RV % predicted −10 (−23–6) −11 (−24–5) −10 (−22–12) 0.472 TLC % predicted 0 (−6–7) −1 (−6–5) 0 (−6–10) 0.128 eNO ppb −6 (−30–9) −3 (−25–10) −7 (−32–8) 0.612 Δ of blood gases PO2 mmHg 1 (−4–8) −2 (−5–10) 2 (−3–7) 0.740 PCO2 mmHg 1 (−1–2) 0 (−1–1) 1 (−1–3) 0.229 Δ of laboratory Eosinophils 103·µL−1 −6 (−10– −4) −6 (−10– −4) −6 (−12– −3) 0.571 Δ of OCS therapy OCS dosage mg −5 (−11–0) −3 (−6–0) −5 (−20– −1) 0.070 OCS therapy, n (%) −9 (11) −3 (7) −6 (14) 0.069# Δ of quality-of-life scores QoL-VAS 1 (0–3) 0 (−1–3) 2 (0–3) 0.019 ACT score 4 (0–8) 3 (0–6) 6 (1–11) 0.097 Stair climbing (flights of stairs) 0 (0–1) 0 (0–1) 0 (0–1) 0.274¶ Annual exacerbations, mean±sd −1.4±2.4 −1.1±2.3 −1.5±2.6 0.505 Δ of subjective condition, n (%) Worsened 12 (14) 4 (11) 8 (22) 0.453 Stable 41 (49) 17 (47) 16 (44) Improved 31 (37) 15 (42) 12 (33) Data are presented as median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. p-values were derived using t-test, if not indicated otherwise. SEA: severe eosinophilic asthma; FVC: forced vital capacity; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; RV: residual volume; TLC: total lung capacity; eNO: exhaled nitric oxide; PO2: oxygen tension; PCO2: carbon dioxide tension; OCS: oral corticosteroids; QoL-VAS: quality of life visual analogue scale; ACT: asthma control test. #: Chi squared test; ¶: Mann–Whitney U-test. Significant values are marked as bold.
- TABLE 3
Comparison of baseline and follow-up visits (absolute)
Item SEA and COPD SEA Baseline Follow-up p-value Adjusted p-value Baseline Follow-up p-value Adjusted p-value Lung function FVC % predicted 81 (73–92) 92 (76–99) <0.001 <0.001 77 (60–92) 89 (74–102) <0.001 <0.001 FEV1 % predicted 56 (42–69) 70 (53–81) <0.001 <0.001 62 (44–75) 75 (55–91) <0.001 <0.001 RV % predicted 141 (112–179) 134 (110–168) 0.005 0.011 138 (105–159) 128 (104–151) 0.069 0.080 TLC % predicted 104 (95–110) 104 (95–114) 0.502 0.502 99 (84–113) 102 (93–110) 0.156 0.169 Blood gases PO2 mmHg 71 (65–77) 71 (67–79) 0.275 0.358 74 (66–79) 73 (67–80) 0.334 0.334 PCO2 mmHg 39 (36–41) 38 (36–41) 0.572 0.620 38 (35–39) 40 (37–41) 0.031 0.040 Laboratory Eosinophils 103·µL−1 0.6 (0.4–0.8) 0.01 (0–0.08) <0.001 <0.001 0.5 (0.2–0.8) 0 (0–0.06) <0.001 <0.001 OCS therapy OCS dosage mg 10 (5–15) 8 (4–18) 0.665 0.665 10 (5–20) 5 (3–6) 0.002 0.003 OCS therapy, n (%) 23 (55) 20 (48) <0.250# <0.271# 20 (48) 14 (33) <0.109# <0.177# QoL scores QoL-VAS 5 (4–7) 7 (4–8) 0.047 0.076 5 (3–6) 7 (5–9) <0.001 <0.001 ACT score 14 (11–19) 19 (13–23) <0.001 0.003 12 (9–18) 20 (17–23) <0.001 <0.001 Stair climbing (flights of stairs) 1 (1–2) 2 (1–3) 0.183 0.264 2 (1–2) 2 (1–3) 0.008¶ 0.012 Annual exacerbations, mean±sd 2.0±2.8 0.9±1.8 0.011 0.020 1.9±2.5 0.4±0.7 0.001 0.002 Data are presented as median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. p-values were derived using paired t-test, if not indicated otherwise. SEA: severe eosinophilic asthma; FVC: forced vital capacity; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; RV: residual volume; TLC: total lung capacity; PO2: oxygen tension; PCO2: carbon dioxide tension; OCS: oral corticosteroids; QoL-VAS: quality of life – visual analogue scale; ACT: asthma control test. #: McNemar test; ¶: Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Significant values are marked as bold.
