Comparison of children with all eosinophilic sputum samples, all non-eosinophilic sputum samples and those with eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic samples
| All eosinophilic, N=15 | All non-eosinophilic, N=20 | Eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic, N=24 | p | |
| Age (years), mean±SD | 13.9 (2.4) | 11.2 (2.6) | 12.7 (2.6) | 0.011* |
| Male/female | 9/6 | 10/10 | 10/14 | 0.535 |
| Severe asthma, n (%) | 10 (24%) | 12 (29%) | 20 (48%) | 0.213 |
| Mild to moderate asthma, n (%) | 5 (29%) | 8 (47%) | 4 (17%) | |
| ICS dose, FP (μg/day), median (IQR) | 500 (375–1000) | 500 (375–1000) | 500 (500–1000) | 0.357 |
| Atopy, n (%) | 13 (87%) | 15 (75%) | 19 (79%) | 0.696 |
| FENO (ppb), median (IQR) | 35.4 (25.5–71.7) | 27.5 (9.8–107.6) | 18.1 (11.5–35.3) | 0.045† |
| FEV1 (%), mean±SD | 81.0 (14.7) | 77.5 (12.6) | 81.0 (14.5) | 0.716 |
| ACT score, mean±SD | 17.1 (3.9) | 17.3 (5.6) | 19.3 (3.6) | 0.381 |
Figures in italics: p value is statistically significant (<0.05).
↵* Post-test analysis showed significant differences between all eosinophilic and all non-eosinophilic groups (p<0.05).
↵† Post-test analysis showed significant differences between all eosinophilic and both eosinophilic/non-eosinophilic groups (p<0.05).
ACT, asthma control test; FENO, exhaled nitric oxide; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FP, fluticasone propionate; ICS, inhaled corticosteroids.