Patients’ characteristics.

Values are given as means ± SD or medians (range). *included four patients with mild and two with moderate persistent asthma. †with the χ2 test or analysis of variance. ‡Patients were considered atopic when they were positive for one or more serum allergen-specific IgE antibodies against house dust, Japanese cedar pollen, mixed gramineae pollen, mixed weed pollen, mixed mold, cat dander, dog dander, and Trichophyton rubrum. §Equivalent to fluticasone propionate. ¶by Kruskal Wallis test, #by unpaired t-test or analysis of variance after data were log-transformed. Abbreviations: ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; FEV1; forced expiratory volume in one second.