Exacerbation Risk in Severe Asthma Is Stratified by Inflammatory Phenotype Using Longitudinal Measures of Sputum Eosinophils

摘要

Difficult-to-control asthma is a heterogeneous disease characterized by inflammation of the airway and frequent exacerbations despite use of inhaled or systemic steroids. Given the economic importance of asthma attacks, a better understanding of risk factors in patients with difficult-to-control asthma is important. Previously, studies evaluating sputum inflammatory cells in this population have used cross-sectional measurements (8).