Total and differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid
| Non-smokers(n = 10) | Healthy smokers(n = 12) | Stable COPD(n = 7) | Severe exacerbations of COPD(n = 7) | Very severe exacerbations of COPD(n = 7) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are mean (SE). | |||||
| *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 compared with non-smokers. | |||||
| †p<0.05, ††p<0.01 compared with smokers. | |||||
| ‡p<0.05 compared with severe COPD. | |||||
| ¶p<0.05 compared with very severe COPD. | |||||
| Volume saline recovered (ml) | 60.0 (7.4) | 47.2 (5.5) | 15.3 (3.8)***† | 42.2 (5.2) | 27.5 (10.4)* |
| % recovery of saline | 40.6 (4.2) | 31.1 (3.8) | 15.6 (2.4)** | 26.3 (3.4) | 19.8 (6.8)* |
| Total cell count (×103) | 2.9 (0.6) | 6.5 (1.3) | 0.73 (0.6)††¶ | 3.74 (0.5) | 43.7 (38.4)*‡ |
| % Mononuclear (macrophage and lymphocyte) | 95 (2.6) | 94.5 (2.2) | 80.6 (6.2) | 63.7 (12.4) | 49.1 (14.3)*†† |
| % Neutrophils | 4.8 (2.6) | 4.9 (1.6) | 17.9 (5.6) | 41.4 (12.5)† | 50.7 (14.3)*†† |
| % Eosinophils | 0 | 0.3 (0.2) | 0.6 (0.6) | 0.1 (0.1) | 0.3 (0.2) |