Summary of changes after antibiotic treatment
| Disease domain | Assay | No. with paired values | Visit 1 mean (SD) | Visit 2 mean (SD) | Mean (SD) change after treatment | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical observations and symptoms | Weight (kg) | 33 | 57.4 (11.9) | 58.1 (11.2) | 0.7 (1.8) | 0.040* |
| Heart rate (min−1) | 38 | 90.5 (14.3) | 82.7 (15.9) | −7.8 (17.3) | 0.008** | |
| Respiratory rate (min−1) | 35 | 20.9 (3.5) | 18.5 (4.2) | −2.4 (4.0) | 0.001** | |
| O2 saturation (%) | 38 | 95.6 (1.9) | 96.0 (1.4) | 0.3 (1.9) | 0.272 | |
| Systolic BP (mm Hg) | 38 | 113.3 (12.6) | 110.6 (14.4) | −2.7 (13.6) | 0.231 | |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg) | 38 | 71.8 (8.7) | 67.0 (9.3) | −4.8 (7.8) | 0.0005*** | |
| Total symptom score | 37 | −6.7 (3.0) | 2.8 (5.6) | 9.5 (6.4) | <0.0001*** | |
| Function | FEV1 (litres) | 32 | 1.93 (0.66) | 2.25 (0.76) | 0.32 (0.48) | 0.0006*** |
| FEV1 SDS | 32 | −4.03 (1.10) | −3.23 (1.42) | 0.80 (1.23) | 0.0009*** | |
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 32 | 55.0 (13.1) | 64.6 (16.8) | 9.6 (14.6) | 0.0008*** | |
| FVC SDS | 23 | −2.79 (1.27) | −1.86 (1.47) | 0.93 (1.36) | 0.003** | |
| FEF25–75 SDS | 15 | −3.70 (0.85) | −3.30 (1.29) | 0.40 (0.97) | 0.130 | |
| LCI | 32 | 14.6 (2.7) | 13.8 (2.4) | −0.8 (1.4) | 0.003** | |
| FRC (litres) | 32 | 2.32 (0.58) | 2.33 (0.60) | 0.01 (0.24) | 0.795 | |
| Structure (expressed as % of maximum possible score) | Extent of bronchiectasis | 30 | 83.2 (16.2) | 80.0 (14.3) | −3.2 (10.6) | 0.1 |
| Severity of bronchiectasis | 31 | 64.9 (15.2) | 65.3 (14.3) | 0.3 (6.8) | 0.8 | |
| Airway wall thickness | 31 | 54.0 (11.3) | 49.5 (10.8) | −4.5 (8.7) | 0.008** | |
| Air trapping | 31 | 48.5 (16.1) | 40.8 (13.4) | −7.7 (13.6) | 0.004** | |
| Small mucus plugs | 31 | 78.5 (16.8) | 69.6 (20.6) | −8.9 (19.7) | 0.018 | |
| Large mucus plugs | 31 | 72.0 (22.0) | 59.0 (23.5) | −13.0 (16.4) | 0.0001*** | |
| Lung consolidation | 31 | 1.9 (2.4) | 1.0 (1.7) | −0.9 (2.2) | 0.005 | |
| Ground glass lung | 31 | 0.9 (1.4) | 0.5 (0.8) | −0.4 (1.7) | 0.2 | |
| Serum inflammatory markers | WCC (106 ml) | 32 | 10.2 (2.6) | 8.7 (3.2) | −1.5 (3.5) | 0.022 |
| CRP (mg/ml)† | 34 | 16 (9–39) | 2 (1–12) | −13.5 | <0.0001*** | |
| Calprotectin (μg/ml)† | 31 | 27.5 (19.4–50.7) | 13.9 (6.3–21.0) | −13.8 | <0.0001*** | |
| IL-6 (pg/ml)† | 33 | 64.0 (53.6–78.0) | 51.2 (48.5–54.8) | −11.7 | 0.0001*** | |
| IL-8 (pg/ml)† | 30 | 3.9 (2.5–5.1) | 3.3 (2.5–4.7) | −0.3 | 0.709 | |
| TNF-α (pg/ml) | 33 | 175.8 (30.9) | 178.2 (34.2) | 2.3 (13.7) | 0.340 | |
| Airway markers | Total cell count (×106)† | 23 | 5.3 (2.7–10.8) | 2.1 (0.8–10.5) | −1.6 | 0.005** |
| Calprotectin (mg/ml)† | 33 | 1.0 (0.45–1.50) | 0.6 (0.20–1.35) | −0.1 | 0.066 | |
| IL-1β (pg/ml)† | 32 | 1032 (415–1972) | 410 (51–1066) | −299 | 0.012* | |
| IL-8 (ng/ml) | 31 | 13.8 (9.2) | 15.4 (13.0) | 1.6 (11.2) | 0.441 | |
| IL-12 (pg/ml) | 32 | 223 (119) | 190 (97) | −32 (93) | 0.060 | |
| RANTES (pg/ml)† | 32 | 6.90 (3.50–11.75) | 7.50 (5.75–11.55) | 0.49 | 0.246 | |
| NE (U/litre) | 32 | 595 (384) | 698 (574) | 103 (584) | 0.435 | |
| MPO (µg/ml)† | 31 | 18.4 (7.6–27.8) | 30.8 (15.1–45.7) | 7.6 | 0.257 | |
| MMP9 (ng/ml)† | 32 | 471 (157–1243) | 214 (100–477) | −62.2 | 0.006** | |
| TIMP1 (ng/ml)† | 32 | 5.20 (2.65–11.15) | 7.25 (2.95–23.55) | 1.15 | 0.022* | |
| 24 h weight (g)† | 15 | 60.3 (31.1–73.6) | 34.0 (17.3–45.3) | −14.5 | 0.035* | |
| Dry weight (%) | 15 | 4.67 (2.49) | 4.11 (1.85) | −0.58 | 0.241 | |
| DNA content (µg/mg) | 15 | 1.15 (0.41) | 0.96 (0.57) | 0.19 (0.36) | 0.057 | |
| Sputum viscosity 1–10 Hz (Pa s) | 14 | 0.10 (0.09–0.18) | 0.12 (0.07–0.16) | −0.03 | 0.227 | |
| Sputum elasticity 1–10 Hz (Pa) | 14 | 8.92 (6.88–15.51) | 10.72 (5.54–16.17) | −2.175 | 0.299 | |
| EBC pH | 37 | 5.9 (5.6–6.25) | 6.1 (5.8–6.4) | 0.20 | 0.016* | |
| EBC nitrite (µM) | 35 | 5.99 (3.19–7.70) | 6.04 (3.92–9.20) | 0.87 | 0.106 | |
| EBC ammonia (ppm)† | 36 | 2.45 (1.33–5.04) | 1.78 (1.00–3.93) | −0.07 (4.5) | 0.242 |
†Statistics performed using log-transformed data; these data quoted as median (IQ range), and median change.
*p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001.
Lower limits for detection for all cytokine assays are given in online supplementary table E1.
Levels of serum IL-10 and IL-1β and sputum IL-10 and IFN-γ were below the sensitivity of the assays for the majority of samples, and are not presented here. See online supplement for details.
BP, blood pressure; CRP, C-reactive protein; EBC, exhaled breath condensate; FEF25–75, forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% FVC; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FRC, functional residual capacity; FVC, forced vital capacity; IFN-γ, interferon γ; IL, interleukin; LCI, lung clearance index; MMP9, matrix metalloprotease 9; MPO, myeloperoxidase; NE, neutrophil elastase; RANTES, regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted; SDS, SD score (z score); TIMP1, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1; TNF-α, tumour necrosis factor α; WCC, white cell count.