Characteristics of the subjects studied
| Control | Asthma IC | Asthma OC | ||
| Pre-treatment | Post-treatment | |||
| Subjects n | 21 | 21 | 9 | |
| Sex M/F | 6/15 | 7/14 | 6/3 | |
| Age yrs | 41.1±12.9 | 48.3±10.5 | 30.0±13.1 | |
| FEV1 % pred | 95.6±10.6* | 70.8±13.1 | 69.4±7.7 | 74.1±4.7 |
| Medication in use % of patients | ||||
| Inhaled corticosteroid | 100 | |||
| Bronchodilator | 100 | 100 | 100 | |
| Oral corticosteroid | 100 | |||
| Sputum weight g | 6.2±3.3 | 7.6±3.3 | 6.3±3.9 | 6.4±4.9 |
| Total cell count ×106 | 3.3±3.1 | 6.3±3.2* | 4.0±3.2 | 2.5±0.8 |
| Duration of induction min | 19.7±1.1 | 18.5±2.3 | 13.8±4.1* | 13.8±4.1* |
Data are presented as mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. IC: patients treated with inhaled corticosteroid; OC: patients treated with oral corticosteroids during 14 days; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second; % pred: % predicted. *: p<0.05.