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Table 1 Patient characteristics

From: Is it possible to claim or refute sputum eosinophils ≥ 3% in asthmatics with sufficient accuracy using biomarkers?

 

Total population

Non-eosinophilic asthmatics (NEA)

Eosinophilic asthmatics (EA)

p (NEA vs EA)

N

869

495

374

-

Women, N (%)

505 (58)

314 (63)

191 (51)

<0.001

Age, years

49 (35–61)

46 (33–59)

51 (38–63)

<0.001

BMI, kg/m2

26.2 ± 5.2

26.3 ± 5.3

26.2 ± 5.0

0.96

Atopy, N (%)

482 (56)

251 (51)

231 (62)

0.001

Smoking status, N (%)

 Non-smokers

457 (53)

262 (53)

195 (52)

0.049

 Current smokers

187 (21)

118 (24)

69 (18)

 Ex-smokers

225 (26)

115 (23)

110 (29)

FEV1, % predicted

83.6 ± 20.6

86.6 ± 19.8

79.6 ± 20.9

<0.001

FEV1/FVC, %

72.6 ± 11.1

74.4 ± 10.6

70.1 ± 11.3

<0.001

PC20M, mg/mLa

2.9 (0.7–13.0)

3.7 (0.9–15.0)

1.8 (0.5–9.8)

<0.001

Reversibility, %

7 (2–12)

6 (2–11)

8 (3–14)

<0.001

ACQ score

2.0 ± 1.2

1.9 ± 1.1

2.2 ± 1.3

<0.001

AQLQ score

4.5 ± 1.4

4.5 ± 1.3

4.5 ± 1.4

0.38

FENO, ppb

23 (13–45)

17 (12–29)

41 (21–72)

<0.001

Sputum eosinophils, % of non-squamous cells

1.8 (0.2–10.8)

0.2 (0.0–1.0)

13.2 (6.5–35.0)

<0.001

Sputum neutrophils, % of non-squamous cells

53 (28–76)

64 (39–84)

41 (22–59)

<0.001

Total serum IgE, kU/L

121 (37–328)

79 (23–227)

200 (80–472)

<0.001

Blood eosinophils, cells/μL

188 (109–328)

137 (80–217)

290 (189–507)

<0.001

Blood neutrophils, cells/μL

4068 (3150–5402)

4034 (3058–5498)

4078 (3228–5312)

0.58

ICS category, N (%)

 Steroid naive

314 (36)

204 (41)

110 (30)

0.003

 Low doseb

126 (15)

71 (14)

55 (15)

 Medium doseb

182 (21)

97 (20)

85 (23)

 High doseb

242 (28)

121 (25)

121 (33)

OCS therapy, N (%)

62 (7)

30 (6)

32 (9)

0.16

LABA, N (%)

530 (61)

279 (56)

251 (67)

0.001

LTRA, N (%)

220 (25)

130 (26)

90 (24)

0.46

Theophylline, N (%)

25 (3)

17 (3)

8 (2)

0.26

  1. aData available for 493 patients of the total population: 312 non-eosinophilic patients and 181 eosinophilic patients
  2. bLow dose ICS: ≤ 500 μg per day; medium dose ICS: >500–1000 μg per day; high dose ICS: >1000 μg per day beclomethasone dipropionate - chlorofluorocarbon
  3. Abbreviations: ACQ asthma control questionnaire, AQLQ asthma quality of life Questionnaire, BMI body mass index, FENO fractional exhaled nitric oxide, FEV 1 forced expiratory volume in 1 s, FVC forced vital capacity, ICS inhaled corticosteroid, IgE immunoglobulin E, LABA long-acting β2-agonist, LTRA leukotriene receptor antagonist, OCS oral corticosteroid, PC20M provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1
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Respiratory Research

ISSN: 1465-993X

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