Demographic and clinical data in schoolchildren with asthma, taking (active treatment) or not taking (placebo) a probiotic mixture
| Demographic characteristics | Total | Placebo | Active treatment |
| Subjects, n | 262 | 139 | 123 |
| Age, years | 8.7±2.96 | 8.4±2.72 | 9.0±3.18 |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 114 (43.5) | 60 (43.2) | 54 (43.9) |
| Male | 148 (56.5) | 79 (56.8) | 69 (56.1) |
| Asthma severity | |||
| Intermittent | 203 (77.5) | 108 (77.7) | 95 (77.2) |
| Mild persistent | 37 (14.1) | 21 (15.1) | 16 (13.0) |
| Moderate persistent | 22 (8.4) | 10 (7.2) | 12 (9.8) |
| Sensitised children | |||
| No | 116 (44.3) | 66 (47.5) | 50 (40.7) |
| Yes | 146 (55.7) | 73 (52.5) | 73 (59.3) |
| Patients with asthma exacerbations | Placebo | Active treatment | OR (95% CI); p-value |
| No exacerbation | 107 (77.0) | 115 (93.5) | 4.30 (1.90–9.74); <0.001 |
| At least one exacerbation | 32 (23.0) | 8 (6.5) | |
| Less than two exacerbations | 127 (91.4) | 122 (99.2) | 11.53 (1.48–90.00); 0.020 |
| Two exacerbations | 12 (8.6) | 1 (0.8) | |
| Total number of asthma exacerbations | 44 | 9 | |
| Clinical judgement | |||
| Mild exacerbation | 16 (36.4) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Moderate exacerbation | 26 (59.1) | 9 (100.0) | |
| Severe exacerbation | 2 (4.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Duration, days | 4.0 (0.0–12.0) | 4.0 (0.0–8.0) |
Data are presented as mean±sd, n (%) or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated.