Table 1.
Sputum inflammation in smokers with COPD, symptomatic smokers and asymptomatic smokers
| COPD | Symptomatic smokers | Asymptomatic smokers | |
| GOLD I-III | GOLD 0 | ||
| Sputum, n | 25 | 9 | 24 |
| Volume, ml | 4.1 (0.7–14.3) | 3.1 (0.3–10.0) | 2.3 (0.6–10.8)* |
| Total cells, 106 | 6.7 (1.4–54.5) | 4.1 (1.1–15.3) | 3.5 (0.2–23)* |
| Cell conc., 103/ml | 1507 (484–9620) | 2134 (534–4146) | 1445 (303–4592) |
| Nonsquamous cells, % | 94 (75–99.7) | 92 (81–96) | 88 (64–99.5) |
| Eosinophils, 103/ml | 15 (0–106) | 20 (0–135) | 13 (0–235) |
| % | 1.4 (0–4.0) | 1.8 (0–4.1) | 0.8 (0–12.6) |
| Neutrophils, 103/ml | 870 (235–7608) | 1575 (434–2558) | 661 (164–2856) |
| % | 72.6 (45–89) | 66 (39–81) | 60.1 (31.5–92.6)* † |
| Macrophages, 103/ml | 407 (89–2615) | 535 (89–2422) | 568 (22–1488) |
| % | 25.4 (8.2–52.7) | 28.7 (16.6–58.4) | 36 (6.5–62.4)* |
| Lymphocytes, 103/ml | 14 (0–77) | 15 (0–62) | 11 (1–161) |
| % | 0.8 (0.1–4) | 0.8 (0.4–1.6) | 0.7 (0.1–3.8) |
| Epithelial cells, 103/ml | 10 (0–107) | 0.4 (0–84) | 10 (0–55) |
| % | 0.5 (0–11) | 0.5 (0–2.5) | 0.8 (0–6.6) |
| Basophils, 103/ml | 0 (0–4) | 0 (0–12) | 0 (0–8) |
| % | 0 (0–0.1) | 0 (0–0.3) | 0 (0–0.3) |
| IL-8, ng/ml | 16.8 (2.1–161)† | 8.7 (0.1–25.7) | 5.3 (0–25)* |
| ECP, μg/L | 157 (32–2700) | 119.8 (13.3–238) | 66 (4.7–1282)* |
Values expressed in median (range). Abbreviations: cell conc. = cell concentration; IL-8 = interleukin-8; ECP = eosinophilic cationic protein.
* p < 0.05 asymptomatic smokers versus total COPD (I-III), Mann-Whitney -U test, † p < 0.05 versus GOLD stage 0, Mann-Whitney-U test.