Induced sputum and blood indices measured before and after treatment
| Beclomethasone | Salmeterol | |||||
| Baseline | After 2 weeks | After 4 weeks | Baseline | After 2 weeks | After 4 weeks | |
| Sputum | ||||||
| Eosinophils % | 12.0 (0.2–51.4) | 1.8 (0–10.8) (**) | 1.0 (0–4) (**) | 18.1 (2.7–29) | 11.3 (2–35.5)** | 7.0 (0–69.1)** |
| ECP Ng·L−1 | 200 (1–616) | 94 (4–600) (*) | 68 (4–700) (*) | 220 (13–620) | 400 (28–560)** | 200 (62–600)* |
| EPX Ng·L−1 | 640 (180–1200) | 157 (48–1040) (*) | 185 (1–44.6) (*) | 900 (180–1600) | 860 (240–1200)** | 800 (56–1000)* |
| Blood | ||||||
| Eosinophils % | 4.8 (0.7–22) | 3.2 (1.2–10.9) (*) | 2.2 (0.6–12) (*) | 4.1 (1.8–11.8) | 3.8 (1.2–8.5) | 3.3 (0.2–9.4)* |
| ECP Ng·L−1 | 8.0 (1–250) | 4.0 (1–23) (*) | 5.5 (1–17) (*) | 8.0 (1–120) | 6.5 (1–19) | 5.0 (1–31) |
| EPX Ng·L−1 | 48.5 (8–450) | 23.5 (4.8–120) (*) | 22.0 (7.9–61) (*) | 48.0 (18–140) | 35.0 (10–130) | 32.0 (8–200)* |
Values are presented as median (range)
ECP: eosinophil cationic protein
EPX: eosinophil protein x
*: p<0.05 between treatments
**: p<0.01 between treatments
(*): p<0.05 from baseline
(**): p<0.01 from baseline