Mean (SE) concentration of indivdual cytokines or mediators in the two patient groups at each outpatient visit
| Chronic obstructive bronchitis | Bronchiectasis | p Value | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visit 1 | Visit 2 | Visit 3 | Visit 4 | Visit 1 | Visit 2 | Visit 3 | Visit 4 | |||
| Myeloperoxidase (units/ml) | 0.28 (0.03) | 0.27 (0.03) | 0.22 (0.04) | 0.33 (0.04) | 31.48 (6.98) | 28.24 (10.53) | 18.28 (6.46) | 27.74 (13.33) | <0.01 | |
| Total elastase (μM) | 0.032 (0.007) | 0.034 (0.008) | 0.033 (0.009) | 0.033 (0.009) | 3.62 (1.12) | 1.93 (0.81) | 1.59 (0.58) | 4.66 (1.70) | <0.0001 | |
| Interleukin 8 (nm) | 6.05 (1.17) | 4.02 (0.82) | 5.95 (2.08) | 5.00 (2.08) | 23.36 (4.36) | 23.72 (3.72) | 20.75 (4.72) | 28.00 (4.55) | <0.01 | |
| LTB4 (nm) | 11.37 (3.50) | 6.05 (1.67) | 10.61 (3.06) | 9.90 (4.62) | 25.20 (5.93) | 25.64 (4.94) | 27.55 (8.80) | 23.91 (8.45) | 0.05 | |
| Elastase activity (μm) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.70 (0.65) | 1.06 (0.46) | 1.70 (0.71) | 1.50 (0.50 | <0.001 | |
| Cathepsin B activity (units/ml) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.49 (0.27) | 0.76 (0.23) | 0.72 (0.25) | 0.79 (0.22) | <0.001 | |
| SLPI (μm) | 2.92 (0.52) | 3.39 (0.80) | 3.23 (0.93) | 2.86 (0.70) | 1.13 (0.36) | 2.01 (0.62) | 1.18 (0.24) | 1.28 (0.45) | <0.01 | |
| Sputum α1-AT (μm) | 0.32 (0.04) | 0.25 (0.04) | 0.43 (0.06) | 0.47 (0.05) | 0.92 (0.03) | 0.87 (0.04) | 1.09 (0.05) | 1.35 (0.09) | <0.003 | |
LTB4 = leukotriene B4; SLPI = secretory leucocyte proteinase inhibitor; α1-AT = α1-antitrypsin.
The lowest significance of any difference between group data is shown and was consistent for each collection point.