Clinical characteristics and sputum cell counts of inflammatory phenotypes of asthma
| EA | NA | PGA | ME/NA | p Value | |
| N | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | |
| Mean (SD) age, years | 66 (11) | 63 (11) | 58 (11) | 51 (25) | 0.203 |
| Gender, M/F | 3/7 | 5/4 | 2/6 | 4/5 | 0.603 |
| Atopy, n (%) | 9 (90)* | 1 (11) | 5 (63) | 6 (67) | 0.004 |
| Mean (SD) FEV1, % predicted | 71 (11) | 74 (25) | 90 (16) | 75 (19) | 0.155 |
| Mean (SD) FVC, % predicted | 89 (12) | 89 (20) | 98 (17) | 89 (14) | 0.553 |
| Mean (SD) FEV1/FVC, % | 63 (7) | 66 (11) | 74 (5) | 68 (8) | 0.057 |
| Mean (SD) BMI, kg/m2 | 28.1 (5.6) | 31.2 (5.2) | 29.6 (7.1) | 32.0 (5.6) | 0.480 |
| Exhaled nitric oxide (ppb), median (Q1, Q3) | 52.4 (38.5, 69.4)† ‡ | 18.0 (15.2, 23.7) | 12.3 (7.5, 18.0) | 18.4 (16.0, 24.5) | 0.002 |
| Smoking, ex/never | 5/5 | 5/4 | 1/7 | 6/3 | 0.147 |
| Pack years, median (Q1, Q3) | 10 (4, 15) | 8 (5, 32) | 25 (25, 25) | 25 (18, 30) | 0.635 |
| Asthma control questionnaire score, median (Q1, Q3) | 1.1 (0.6, 1.7) | 1.0 (0.6, 2.1) | 0.5 (0.2, 0.7) | 1.0 (0.9, 2.1) | 0.048 |
| Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use, yes/no | 9/1 | 6/3 | 5/3 | 7/2 | 0.524 |
| ICS dose (μg daily BDP equivalent) median (Q1, Q3) | 1000 (500, 1000) | 1000 (200, 1000) | 1000 (500, 2000) | 1600 (400, 2000) | 0.595 |
| Total cell count ×106/ml, median (Q1, Q3) | 5.1 (2.4, 7.1) | 6.7 (3.5, 10.7) | 2.6 (1.4, 3.9) | 4.1 (2.1, 4.7) | 0.178 |
| Viability, median (Q1, Q3) | 74.1 (51.9, 92.0) | 90.1 (83.3, 95.8) | 85.2 (72.4, 90.7) | 91.1 (73.9, 92.6) | 0.261 |
| Neutrophils, %, median (Q1, Q3) | 27.9 (14.3, 39.8) | 78.5 (75.5, 83.5)‡ § | 23.4 (20.6, 33.9) | 67.3 (66.5, 70.8)‡ § | <0.001 |
| Neutrophils ×104/ml, median (Q1, Q3) | 106.3 (35.1, 237.4) | 600.7 (293.1, 840.7)‡ § | 56.8 (41.7, 90.8) | 296.6 (139.2, 324.0) | 0.002 |
| Eosinophils, % median (Q1, Q3) | 41.3 (23.7, 51.8)† ‡ | 0.8 (0.3, 0.8) | 0.0 (0.0, 0.4) | 4.5 (3.5, 6.5)‡ | <0.001 |
| Eosinophils ×104/ml, median (Q1, Q3) | 131.9 (102.5, 334.2)† ‡ | 3.3 (0.4, 8.0) | 0.0 (0.0, 0.9) | 14.9 (13.5, 23.4)‡ | <0.001 |
| Macrophages, %, median (Q1, Q3) | 35.5 (13.0, 40.0) | 19.0 (16.3, 23.0) | 71.8 (66.0, 76.4)† § ¶ | 24.8 (23.0, 27.8) | <0.001 |
| Macrophages ×104/ml, median (Q1, Q3) | 103.4 (87.5, 190.8) | 78.3 (55.6, 226.1) | 167.5 (84.8, 257.2) | 88.8 (47.6, 122.4) | 0.591 |
↵* p<0.013 (Fisher exact test) vs NA.
↵† p<0.004 (Kruskal–Wallis test) vs NA.
↵‡ p<0.004 (Kruskal–Wallis test) vs PGA.
↵§ p<0.004 (Kruskal–Wallis test) vs EA.
↵¶ p<0.004 (Kruskal–Wallis test) vs ME/NA.
BMI, body mass index; EA, eosinophilic asthma; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; ME/NA, mixed eosinophilic and neutrophilic asthma; NA, neutrophilic asthma; PGA, paucigranulocytic asthma.