Demographic and pulmonary function data (patients with no bronchial dilatation on high resolution CT scan)
|
Frequent exacerbators (n=8) | Infrequent exacerbators (n=24) | |
| Age (years) | 66.4 (5.0) | 66.7 (6.9) |
| Male sex3-151 | 5 (63%) | 16 (67%) |
| Current smokers3-151 | 4 (50%) | 12 (50%) |
| Inhaled steroids3-151 | 7 (88%)3-150 | 12 (50%) |
| FEV1 (l) | 1.25 (0.50) | 1.15 (0.33) |
| FEV1 (%) | 50.5 (14.9) | 46.5 (14.6) |
| Response to inhaled β2 agonist (ml) | 225 (55) | 170 (135) |
| FEV1/VC (%) | 41.6 (11.5) | 42.3 (12.5) |
| RV/TLC (%) | 120 (27) | 125 (23) |
| Kco (%) | 91.0 (28.7) | 90.8 (27.2) |
FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in one second; VC = vital capacity; RV = residual volume; TLC = total lung capacity; Kco = carbon monoxide transfer coefficient.
Frequent exacerbators had suffered ⩾3 and infrequent exacerbators ⩽2 exacerbations in the previous 12 months.
↵3-151 Clinical characteristics expressed as number (%); the remainder of the data are shown as mean (SD).
↵3-150 Proportion of patients on inhaled corticosteroids in the frequent exacerbation group was higher (p=0.05).