TABLE 1.
Demographic, functional, clinical and inflammatory characteristics of severely asthmatic adults with or without chronic mucus hypersecretion
| Adults with severe asthma | |||
| With chronic mucus hypersecretion | Without chronic mucus hypersecretion | p-value | |
| Patients | n=10 | n=10 | |
| Males | n=5 | n=4 | >0.99 |
| Age, years | 55.8±10.3 | 54.1±19.4 | 0.81 |
| Age of onset, years | 12.5 (5.5–44.3) | 20.0 (4.0–47.5) | 0.90 |
| BMI, kg·m−2 | 28.3±4.2 | 28.3±3.4 | 0.97 |
| Atopy | 60% | 60% | >0.99 |
| Biologic therapy | n=8 | n=9 | >0.99 |
| Anti-IL-5 | n=7 | n=6 | 0.58 |
| Anti-IgE | n=0 | n=3 | 0.21 |
| Anti-IL-4/13 | n=1 | n=0 | 0.47 |
| FEV1, % pred | 77.3±24.0 | 69.7±20.4 | 0.46 |
| FVC, % pred | 79.1±19.7 | 80.9±16.5 | 0.83 |
| FEV1/FVC, % | 75.6±9.6 | 67.7±12.0 | 0.12 |
| FENO50, ppb | 29.5 (15.5–47.0) | 38.5 (30.3–60.8) | 0.23 |
| nNO, nL·min−1 | 169.9±105.2 | 199.4±80.8 | 0.49 |
| Sputum inflammation | n=9 | n=4 | 0.06 |
| Eosinophils, % | 5.0 (0.7–7.8) | 4.3 (0.5–10.3) | 0.85 |
| Neutrophils, % | 72.8 (58.5–81.6) | 69.6 (50.0–86.7) | 0.94 |
| Blood eosinophils per mm3 | n=8 | n=10 | 0.47 |
| 120 (63–658) | 50 (8–175) | 0.14 | |
| ACT | 16.3±6.4 | 20.2±3.7 | 0.11 |
| ACQ | 1.50 (1.00–4.03) | 1.36 (1.25–2.14) | 0.64 |
| AQLQ | 4.58±1.57 | 5.47±1.04 | 0.15 |
| Chronic rhinitis | 70% | 60% | >0.99 |
| Chronic rhinosinusitis | 60% | 50% | >0.99 |
| Nasal polyps | 30% | 50% | 0.65 |
| Bronchiectasis | 10% | 10% | >0.99 |
Data are presented as mean±sd for continuous variables or median (range) for variables with a skewed distribution, unless otherwise stated. Comparisons between groups used the t-test for parametric data, the Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test for nonparametric data and the Fisher test for categorical variables. A p-value of <0.050 was taken as the threshold for statistical significance. BMI: body mass index; IL: interleukin; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; FENO50: exhaled nitric oxide fraction measured at a flow rate of 50 mL·s−1; nNO: nasal nitric oxide; ACT: Asthma Control Test; ACQ: Asthma Control Questionnaire; AQLQ: Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire.