[The clinical characteristics and airway inflammatory phenotypes in 35 patients with severe asthma]

Objective: To analyze the clinical features and airway inflammatory phenotypes in patients with severe asthma. Methods: Patients with severe asthma were recruited in this cross-sectional study in our center. History of asthma, blood and sputum samples, and respiratory function were tested and recorded. The phenotypes of inflammation in airway were evaluated. Results: A total of 35 asthmatic patients with the mean age 41.4 years were involved in this study from January 2013 to December 2013. The disease duration were (14.3±13.6) years with mostly male in China-Japan Friendship Hospital. Thirteen patients reported the history of smoking. Twenty-one patients had the complications such as allergic rhinitis, followed by chronic rhinosinusitis of 11 cases, nasal polyp of 7 cases, gastroesophageal reflux disease of 5. The forced expiratory volume in one second/predicted value ratio (FEV(1)%pred) in 29 patients was lower than 80%.Twenty-one participants did not react in bronchial reversibility test. Sixteen patients were administrated with oral cortical steroids (OCS). The average annual cost per patient was 22 thousand RMB. Sixteenrefractory asthmatics were diagnosed as eosinophilic asthma. Conclusions: The clinical features associated with severe asthma include male gender, smoking, persistent airway limitation. Systemic use of corticosteroids is common and treatment costs are high. The eosinophilic asthma is the main inflammatory phenotype in patients with severe asthma.