Variable Definitions
Outcomes. 1) FEV1 percent predicated (FEV1pp) (measured at
admission, midpoint, discharge, hospital follow up). At admission values
are typically in the clinic when decision to admit was made, midpoint
was between 5-7 days after hospitalization, discharge reflects the day
of discharge or 1-2 days prior, hospital follow-up was typically 4-6
weeks following discharge. We also evaluated restoring patients to their
baseline FEV1pp after hospital admission for APE (discharge/baseline
FEV1pp), and time to next APE compared to routine treatment. The
baseline FEV1pp was the best value in the 12 months. A secondary outcome
was length of hospital stay.
Steroids. Reason for steroid prescription was recorded; reasons
documented included: poor improvement in FEV1pp, IgE elevation (but not
ABPA diagnosis), previous positive response to steroids (FEV1pp).
Covariates. Demographic and additional clinical data collected
included gender (male/female), genotype (dF508/dF508, dF508/other,
other/other), length of stay, IgE values, antimicrobial treatment
regimen, sputum culture data and best baseline spirometry.