Induced sputum results and clinical asthma pattern
| Infrequent episodic | Frequent episodic | Persistent | Healthy control | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are median (IQR). | |||||
| * p<0.05 v control. | |||||
| †p<0.05 infrequent episodic v persistent asthma. | |||||
| ECP=eosinophil cationic protein. | |||||
| Total cell count (×106/ml) | 1.7 (0.8, 3.7) | 1.7 (0.8, 4.8) | 2.6 (0.9, 7.1) | 1.9 (0.9, 2.7) | 0.38 |
| Squamous (%) | 9.9 (3.8, 34.6) | 24.1 (2.7, 57.6) | 18.1 (4.4, 50.4) | 16.5 (4.1, 35.0) | 0.94 |
| Quality | 6 (5, 6) | 6 (4, 6) | 6 (5, 6) | 6 (4, 6) | 0.80 |
| Neutrophil (%) | 29.2 (0.1, 47.8) | 27.3 (17.1, 58.1) | 32.0 (19.0, 66.0) | 36.6 (17.0, 53.3) | 0.73 |
| Eosinophil (%) | 1.5 (0, 7.0)† | 2.3 (0.5, 11.3)* | 3.8 (1.7, 14.0)* | 1.0 (0.3, 1.8) | 0.002 |
| Macrophage (%) | 53.4 (35.8, 74.4)† | 47.0 (25.3, 71.5) | 27.0 (15.8, 56.0)* | 53.5 (40.0, 69.0) | 0.01 |
| Lymphocyte (%) | 0.3 (0, 1.1) | 1.0 (0, 1.5) | 0.5 (0, 1) | 0.5 (0, 2) | 0.03 |
| Epithelial (%) | 2.0 (0.5, 6)† | 6.0 (0.3, 10.5) | 5.0 (1.8, 17)* | 2.5 (1.0, 5.8) | 0.04 |
| Mast cells (%) | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0.85 |
| ECP (ng/ml) | 113 (43, 391)† | 220 (44, 718) | 375 (124, 1258)* | 139 (48, 262) | 0.0003 |