Objective: To retrospectively study the effects of budesonide inhalation combined with conventional symptomatic treatment on serum inflammatory factor expression levels and pulmonary function in patients with cough variant asthma (CVA) and to evaluate treatment efficacy.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 200 patients diagnosed with CVA at the Second Hospital of Jiaxing between January 2022 and June 2023 and given conventional symptomatic treatment plus budesonide inhalation were included in this study. Patients were divided into a no remission group, a partial remission group and a complete remission group based on treatment effect. The expression levels of serum inflammatory factors, cough symptom scores, and small airway function indicators in the three groups of patients at different time points were compared.
Results: In the three groups of CVA patients, after receiving budesonide inhalation combined with conventional symptomatic treatment, the expression levels of serum IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, TGF-β 1, and IgE and number of eosinophils significantly decreased (P < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the IL-6 and TGF-β 1 levels among the three groups of CVA patients at T1, T2 and T3. There were statistically significant differences in IgE levels, number of eosinophils, cough symptom scores, and small airway function indicators between T2 and T3 (P< 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve prediction analysis revealed significant differences in the expression of IL-6 and TGF-β 1 at T1, T2, and T3.
Conclusion: Budesonide inhalation combined with conventional symptomatic treatment can significantly reduce the levels of serum inflammatory factors in patients with CVA to reduce inflammation and the allergic response, thereby reducing the cough symptom score, improving pulmonary function, and improving therapeutic efficacy. In addition, IL-6 and TGF-β 1 can be used as early predictors of budesonide inhalation efficacy.

Keywords: budesonide, cough variant asthma, cytokines, IL-6, TGF-β 1