Baseline characteristics
| Placebo | Triamcinolone | p-value | |
| Subjects, n | 16 | 15 | |
| Sex male, n (%) | 9 (56) | 9 (60) | 1.000 |
| Age years# | 65 (55–74) | 63 (51–67) | 0.452 |
| Adult-onset (>18 years) asthma, n (%) | 11 (69) | 8 (53) | 0.473 |
| Atopic, n (%) | 7 (44) | 5 (33) | 0.716 |
| BMI kg m−2¶ | 25.2±2.3 | 26.8±2.8 | 0.080 |
| Pack-years# | 0 (0–1.5) | 0 (0–5) | 0.830 |
| Fluticasone equivalent mg# | 500 (500–1000) | 500 (500–1000) | 0.578 |
| OCS dependent, n (%) | 3 (19) | 2 (13) | 1.000 |
| Exacerbations, preceding year# | 2 (0–3) | 2 (1–5) | 0.493 |
| Blood eosinophils ×109 L−1# | 0.2 (0.1–0.4) | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) | 0.951 |
| FENO ppb# | 35 (22–92) | 21 (13–26) | 0.036 |
| Pb FEV1, % pred¶ | 66±16 | 77±17 | 0.235 |
| Pb FEV1/FVC, % pred¶ | 65±12 | 72±8 | 0.060 |
| FRC/TLC, % pred¶ | 119±14 | 111±15 | 0.097 |
| ACQ total score# | 1.5 (1.0–2.4) | 1.3 (0.8–2.8) | 0.874 |
BMI: body mass index; OCS: oral corticosteroids; FENO: exhaled nitric oxide fraction; Pb: post-bronchodilator; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; FRC: functional residual capacity; TLC: total lung capacity; ACQ: asthma control questionnaire; IQR: interquartile range. #: median (IQR); ¶: mean±sd.