Patient characteistics
| High-dose | Standard-dose | |
| Subjects n | 83 | 86 |
| Age yrs | 38.0 (18–68) | 38.0 (18–65) |
| Sex ratio (male/female) | 44/40 | 41/45 |
| Duration of asthma | 16.0 (0–49) | 17.0 (0–52) |
| Previous use of ICS % | 49 | 51 |
| Use of theophylline % | 34 | 27 |
| Allergy %* | 84 | 82 |
| Smoking past or current % | 33 | 37 |
| Nocturnal symptoms# 0–3 | 0.80±0.66 | 0.80±0.73 |
| Daily symptoms# 0–3 | 0.89±0.63 | 0.89±0.68 |
| β2 at night# puffs | 1.2±1.3 | 1.1±1.5 |
| β2 daily# puffs | 2.4±1.8 | 2.5±2.2 |
| FEV1 % pred | 74.4±16.0 | 74.1±13.6 |
| Reversibility# % | 13.7±9.1 | 17.0±9.8 |
| Number of eosinophils 109·L−1 | 0.32±0.21 | 0.43±0.33 |
Data presented as means (ranges) or mean±sd unless otherwise stated
High-dose: 800 µg b.i.d.
standard-dose: 200 µg b.i.d.
ICS: inhaled corticosteroids
*determined using prick test
#three patients <12% (protocol deviation).