Patient details and sputum cell counts in normal controls, atopic and non-atopic subjects
| Atopic | Non-atopic | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | All patients | β agonist only | Inhaled steroids | All patients | β agonist only | Inhaled steroids | |
| FEV1=forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC=forced vital capacity; PC20=concentration of methacholine provoking a fall in FEV1 of 20% or more; TCC=total cell count. | |||||||
| Values are mean (SE) except for †geometric mean (log SE) and ‡median (IQR) | |||||||
| *p<0.05 atopic v non-atopic subjects; **p<0.01 atopic v non-atopic subjects. | |||||||
| Number | 34 | 114 | 61 | 53 | 145 | 82 | 63 |
| Male (%) | 47 | 63.8** | 62.3** | 34.0 | 34.5** | 37.8** | 30.2 |
| Age | 34 (16) | 39 (21)** | 40 (21)** | 38 (38)** | 53 (18)** | 54 (25)** | 50 (20)** |
| Age at onset | – | 16 (31)** | 27 (38)** | 11 (19)** | 47 (25)** | 48 (26)** | 45 (24)** |
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 98.8 (5.6) | 86.5 (1.4) | 91.6 (1.6) | 80.7 (2.4) | 85.7 (1.4) | 88.8 (1.8) | 81.7 (1.9) |
| FEV1/FVC (%) | 85.3 (1.3) | 75.1 (0.9) | 76.2 (1.0) | 73.8 (1.7) | 73.0 (0.1) | 74.1 (0.9) | 71.6 (1.2) |
| Methacholine PC20 (mg/ml)† | >16 | 0.68 (0.07 )** | 0.89 (0.11)* | 0.50 (0.11)* | 1.34 (0.06)** | 1.58 (0.07)* | 1.06 (0.09)* |
| PEF amplitude % mean | 8.5 (0.9) | 26.0 (2.0) | 22.2 (2.1) | 30.1 (4.0) | 21.7 (1.3) | 18.7 (1.4) | 25.0 (2.2) |
| Blood eosinophils (%) | 2.2 (0.6) | 4.6 (0.4) | 4.1 (0.4) | 5.1 (0.8) | 3.7 (0.3) | 3.6 (0.4) | 3.9 (0.4) |
| Sputum TCC (× 106/ml) | 2.8 (0.5) | 2.3 (0.3) | 2.3 (0.4) | 2.2 (0.5) | 2.0 (0.4) | 1.4 (0.2) | 2.6 (0.7) |
| Squamous cells (%) | 5.1 (14.) | 4.4 (15.3) | 3.8 (14.8) | 4.7 (15.8) | 3.8 (10.0) | 4.4 (11.3) | 3.80 (8.4) |
| Viability (%) | 60.8 (2.8) | 61.7 (2.0) | 63.5 (2.7) | 59.6 (3.5) | 62.6 (1.7) | 60.6 (2.1) | 65.0 (2.7) |
| Eosinophils (%)‡ | 0.0 (0.3) | 2.5 (7.0) | 4.4 (9.0)* | 1.1 (1.4)* | 2.0 (12.6) | 1.5 (6.9)* | 3.3 (20.4)* |
| Neutrophils (%) | 30.8 (3.3) | 45.0 (2.5)** | 44.2 (3.3)** | 45.9 (4.4) | 54.1 (2.3)** | 57.1 (2.9)** | 49.9 (3.6) |
| Macrophages (%) | 61.0 (3.0) | 43.5 (2.4)** | 42.4 (3.0)** | 44.7 (4.2)** | 32.8 (2.0)** | 33.0 (2.5)** | 32.5 (3.1)** |
| Lymphocytes (%) | 1.4 (0.4) | 1.0 (0.1) | 1.0 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.3) | 0.8 (0.1) | 0.8 (0.2) | 0.8 (0.2) |
| Epithelial cells (%) | 3.8 (0.9) | 3.2 (0.5) | 3.2 (0.8) | 3.3 (0.8) | 2.7 (0.4) | 2.8 (0.5) | 2.7(0.6) |