Inflammatory variables of study subjects
| Variables | SRA (n=33) | Moderate asthma (n=29) | Naïve asthma (n=21) | Normal subjects (n=20) | p Value |
| Cells (×106/ml) | 2.9 (0.9–3.5) | 1.7 (1–2.4) | 1 (0.7–1.6) | 0.8 (0.6–1.1) | 0.002* |
| Eosinophils (%) | 11 (4–19) | 6 (3–9) | 4 (1–7) | 0.5 (0–1) | <0.001* |
| Neutrophils (%) | 40 (28–46) | 22 (20–42) | 25 (44–40) | 23 (17–25) | 0.002* |
| Macrophages (%) | 50 (37–59) | 70 (48–73) | 62 (48–70) | 64 (56–70) | 0.002* |
| Lymphocytes (%) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 0.4 (0–1) | 0.25 (0–1) | 0.756 |
| OPN (pg/ml) | 1840 (1125–11000) | 130 (100–210) | 100 (67–130) | 50 (42–70) | <0.001* |
| VEGF (pg/ml) | 1212 (882–1555) | 400 (300–450) | 564 (389–654) | 210 (202–223) | <0.001* |
| TGF-β1 (pg/ml) | 2840 (2210–3055) | 1500 (1320–1560) | 1120 (890–1365) | 850 (645–1005) | <0.001* |
| ECP (×102 pg/ml) | 2100 (900–4700) | 1200 (800–1900) | 835 (760–1450) | 334 (221–487) | 0.005* |
| IL-8 (pg/ml) | 2090 (730–3500) | 1670 (1350–1920) | 670 (550–1200) | 432 (314–556) | <0.001* |
| CystLts (pg/ml) | 243 (207–334) | 121 (109–148) | 121(96–125) | 93 (75–121) | <0.001* |
| IL-13 (pg/ml) | 180 (73–228) | 68 (48–87) | 54 (47–60) | 34 (33–38) | <0.001* |
Data presented as median (IQR).
↵* Significant p values pertaining to differences among the four groups, all in favour of SRA.
CystLts, cysteinyl leukotrienes; ECP, eosinophilic cationic protein; IL-8, interleukin 8; IL-13, interleukin-13; OPN, osteopontin; SRA, severe refractory asthma; TGF-β1, transforming growth factor β; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.