Table 1.
Patient groups
| Pneumonia | Cystic fibrosis | Asthma | Controls | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bacterial | non-bacterial | ||||
| N | 31 | 17 | 39 | 15 | 8 |
| Age [yrs] | 10 ± 5 | 12 ± 7 | 11 ± 6 | 10 ± 4 | 9 ± 4 |
| Sex (m:f) | 19/12 | 9/8 | 23/16 | 7/8 | 5/3 |
| CRP (mg/l) | 114 ± 64 | 53 ± 25 | 8 ± 3 | 12 ± 4 | 2 ± 1 |
| WBC (109/l) | 20 ± 8 | 11 ± 5 | 9 ± 4 | 10 ± 5 | 8 ± 2 |
| Atopy | 4/31 | 5/17 | 11/39 | 15/15 | 0/8 |
| FEV1 (% pred) | - | - | 95 ± 20 | 68 ± 12 | - |
| FVC (% pred) | - | - | 93 ± 19 | 73 ± 26 | - |
| Bacteria detected | 31 | 0 | 30/39 | 3/15 | 0/8 |
| BALF cells | |||||
| Viability (%) | 76 ± 20 | 70 ± 14 | 76 ± 34 | 81 ± 26 | 85 ± 13 |
| Recovery (%) | 62 ± 24 | 52 ± 18 | 42 ± 17 | 56 ± 11 | 58 ± 18 |
| Total cells (103/ml) | 962 ± 303 | 712 ± 144 | 3240 ± 9380 | 240 ± 113 | 145 ± 23 |
| Neutrophils (%) | 38 ± 24 | 10 ± 13 | 63 ± 31 | 16 ± 23 | 2 ± 1 |
| Macrophages (%) | 55 ± 28 | 62 ± 34 | 33 ± 16 | 74 ± 21 | 87 ± 9 |
| Lymphocytes (%) | 12 ± 16 | 20 ± 11 | 5 ± 3 | 13 ± 14 | 5 ± 3 |
| Eosinophils (%) | 4 ± 2 | 2 ± 3 | 2 ± 1 | 5 ± 2 | 0 ± 0 |
| Mast cells (%) | 1 ± 1 | 1 ± 2 | 1 ± 1 | 2 ± 1 | 0 ± 1 |
| Plasma cells (%) | 4 ± 7 | 8 ± 5 | 3 ± 4 | 6 ± 4 | 2 ± 1 |
| BALF cells analyzed by flow cytometry | 15/31 | 8/17 | 9/39 | 13/15 | 8/8 |
results are expressed as means ± SD; m: male, f: female; WBC: white blood count; FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (% of predicted); FVC: Forced vital capacity (% of predicted); BALF: bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; CRP: C-reactive protein; WBC: white blood cell count; *Pathogens detected in any patients sample at time of study (blood, BALF or sputum).