Table 1. Main demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of study participants.
| Variables | Males (n = 33) | Females (n = 25) | p-Value (*) | Total (n = 58) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (Months) | 3.5 ± 2.2 | 3.3 ± 2.5 | .78 | 3.4 ± 2.3 |
| Weight (Kg) | 6.2 ± 1.5 | 5.6 ± 1.4 | .08 | 5.9 ± 1.5 |
| Length (cm) | 62.3 ± 6.2 | 58.7 ± 4.0 | .02 | 60.8 ± 5.6 |
| Fever (%) | 54.5 | 54.2 | .97 | 54.4 |
| Cough (%) | 97.0 | 91.7 | .38 | 94.7 |
| Intercostal retractions (%) | 72.7 | 87.5 | .18 | 78.9 |
| Subdiaphragmatic retractions (%) | 90.9 | 87.5 | .68 | 89.5 |
| Jugular retractions (%) | 60.6 | 66.7 | .64 | 63.2 |
| Localized wheezing (%) | 12.1 | 20.8 | .37 | 15.8 |
| Diffuse wheezing (%) | 66.7 | 45.8 | .12 | 57.9 |
| Oxygen supplementation (%) | 30.3 | 37.5 | .57 | 33.3 |
| CRS > 1 (%) | 69.7 | 66.7 | .80 | 68.4 |
| Antibiotics (%) | 24.2 | 8.7 | .13 | 17.9 |
| Bronchodilators (%) | 75.8 | 66.7 | .45 | 71.9 |
| BDNF (ng/ml) (#) | 12.6 ± 4.7 | 13.8 ± 6.2 | .90 | 13.1 ± 5.4 |
| Nfl (pg/ml) (#) | 12.8 ± 5.8 | 13.3 ± 6.2 | .61 | 13.0 ± 5.9 |
| TrkB (ng/ml) (#) | 3.9 ± 3.4 | 4.1 ± 2.7 | .36 | 4.0 ± 3.1 |
| PLT (x 10**3/µl) | 533 ± 188 | 427 ± 136 | .22 | 470 ± 163 |
| CRP (mg/ml) | .67 ± 0.9 | .83 ± 1.4 | .88 | .77 ± 1.18 |
| RSV + (%) | 58.1 | 80.0 | .10 | 66.7 |
Note: P positive values between groups are shown in bold. # Data for BDNF, TrkB and Nfl are expressed for n = 58; males = 33; females = 25.
Abbreviations: CRS – clinical respiratory scores; BDNF – brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Nfl – neurofilament light chain; TrkB - tropomyosin receptor kinase B; CRP – C-reactive protein; PLT – platelets; RSV - respiratory syncytial virus. (*) Mann-Whitney independent groups test or Chi-Square test.