Table 1.
Demographic characteristics and baseline data of subjects.
| The conventional treatment group (n = 30) | The vaccination strategy group (n = 31) | The oral probiotics group (n = 27) | The aerosol inhaled amikacin group (n = 24) | p value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 66.03 ± 9.23 | 68.35 ± 6.83 | 66.04 ± 6.71 | 68.42 ± 6.12 | 0.424 |
| Sex, male (%) | 26 (86.7%) | 27 (87.1%) | 26 (96.3%) | 22 (91.2%) | 0.583 |
| Current or former smokers (%) | 22 (73.3%) | 27 (87.1%) | 26 (96.3%) | 21 (87.5%) | 0.096 |
| Smoking dose (pack-years) | 35.42 ± 36.58 | 28.97 ± 17.48 | 42.81 ± 29.11 | 34.32 ± 24.25 | 0.313 |
| BMI | 22.72 ± 2.95 | 22.79 ± 3.00 | 22.87 ± 2.32 | 22.64 ± 3.18 | 0.993 |
| FEV1 (L) | 1.17 ± 0.54 | 1.11 ± 0.45 | 1.20 ± 0.38 | 1.07 ± 0.40 | 0.726 |
| FEV1, %predicted | 44.20 ± 17.83 | 39.13 ± 16.34 | 42.95 ± 16.41 | 37.48 ± 12.72 | 0.376 |
| FEV1/FVC | 50.24 ± 13.29 | 50.64 ± 15.40 | 51.20 ± 16.16 | 50.05 ± 17.65 | 0.994 |
| CAT | 19.32 ± 9.13 | 19.95 ± 6.08 | 20.31 ± 7.14 | 21.71 ± 4.46 | 0.753 |
| mMRC ≥ 2 (%) | 23 (76.7%) | 21 (67.7%) | 22 (81.5%) | 17 (70.8%) | 0.272 |
| Patients with severe or very severe COPD (%) | 23 (76.7%) | 23 (74.2%) | 19 (70.4%) | 18 (75.0%) | 0.496 |
| Patients with high symptom burden (%) | 24 (80.0%) | 29 (93.5%) | 25 (92.6%) | 23 (95.8%) | 0.175 |
| Patients with high risk of AE (%) | 22 (73.3%) | 20 (64.5%) | 17 (63.0%) | 17 (70.8%) | 0.810 |
| Patients labeled GOLD D (%) | 19 (63.3%) | 18 (58.1%) | 16 (59.3%) | 16 (66.7%) | 0.439 |
| the frequency of moderate-to-severe exacerbations during the year before enrollment | 1.63 ± 0.83 | 1.95 ± 2.04 | 1.13 ± 0.34 | 1.43 ± 0.65 | 0.248 |
Data are shown as means ± standard deviation or number (%) subjects. p value was derived from comparison among groups. *p value < 0.05.
AE, acute exacerbation; BMI, Body Mass Index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FEV1%, FEV1/predicted FEV1; FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity; GOLD, Global initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; CAT, COPD Assessment Test; mMRC, Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale.