Sputum and BAL fluid differential cell counts (%)
| Normal | Idiopathic cough | Explained cough | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data are expressed as median (range). | |||
| *p = 0.03, **p = 0.003, ***p = 0.002 (Kruskal-Wallis test). | |||
| Induced sputum | |||
| Lymphocytes | 0.5 (0–9.8) | 0.7 (0–5.8) | 0.1 (0–1.3) |
| Eosinophil | 0.5 (0–2.0) | 0.2 (0–0.8) | 3.8 (0–68) |
| Neutrophil | 56 (38–84) | 50 (15–81) | 56 (11–88) |
| Macrophage | 42 (12–51) | 47 (17–82) | 27 (1–86) |
| Epithelial cell | 2.5 (0.8–15.1) | 1.8 (0–19.8) | 3.4 (0–10.8) |
| Squamous contamination | 4 (0–15) | 8 (0–35) | 6 (0–16) |
| Viability | 55 (20–81) | 65 (23–87) | 52 (34–83) |
| Total cell count ×106/ml | 1.6 (0.3–3.6) | 0.9 (0.2–3.8) | 1.4 (0.2–12) |
| BAL fluid | |||
| Lymphocytes | 6.3 (1.4–14.7) | 10.0 (1.3–47)*** | 5.2 (2.2–28.2) |
| Total lymphocyte count (×106) | 0.5 (0–1.9) | 0.9 (0.2–7.1)** | 0.3 (0.1–2.2) |
| Eosinophil | 0.3 (0–2.5) | 0.2 (0–1.8) | 1.5 (0–13)* |
| Neutrophil | 9 (0–24) | 5 (0–33) | 5 (0–19) |
| Macrophage | 77 (43–91) | 78 (47–88) | 81 (38–89) |
| Epithelial cell | 7 (2–26) | 5 (1–17) | 5 (2–33) |
| Viability | 71 (45–85) | 69 (19–88) | 65 (25–95) |
| Recovery (%) | 24 (8–38) | 28 (15–39) | 26 (19–40) |
| Total cell count ×106/ml | 7.0 (0.8–48) | 7.5 (3.1–22.9) | 5.4 (4.0–8.5) |