Table 1.

Baseline epidemiological characteristics between hypertonic-saline-treated and non-treated groups

	Hypertonic saline (n=121)	No hypertonic saline (n=303)	p Value
Age, mean±SD	33±10	31±12	0.13
Male gender, n (%)	37 (31%)	196 (65%)	<0.001
Body mass index, mean±SD	20.8±0.7	21.9±5.7	0.001
Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (% predicted), mean±SD	50±12	46±23	0.016
Forced vital capacity (% predicted), mean±SD	73±9	57±24	<0.001
Use of recombinant human DNase, n (%)	121 (100%)	303 (100%)	NA
Sputum positivity for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, n (%)	60 (50%)	211 (70%)	<0.001
Sputum positivity for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, n (%)	60 (50%)	97 (32%)	0.001
Airway-clearance device (chest vest or flutter valve), n (%)	80 (93%)	143 (97%)
Hospitalisation/home intravenous antibiotics, n (%)	41 (52%)/41 (48%)	88 (60%)/60 (40%)