Table 2.
Patient characteristics.
| Parameters | Discovery set (n = 39) | Verification set (n = 32) | P 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 70.0 ± 7.5 | 72.2 ± 6.4 | 0.15 |
| Gender (male/female) | 39/0 | 27/5 | 0.01 |
| Smoking status at the time of enrollment (current/ex) | 7/32 | 2/30 | 0.17 |
| GOLD stage (I/II/III/IV) | 5/14/15/5 | 8/8/14/2 | 0.39 |
| Pulmonary function tests | |||
| %VC | 86.6 ± 15.6 | 90.6 ± 22.1 | 0.39 |
| FEV1 | 1.48 ± 0.66 | 1.38 ± 0.68 | 0.24 |
| FEV1% | 49.5 ± 12.4 | 48.4 ± 18.5 | 0.46 |
| FEV1% predicted | 52.8 ± 20.6 | 54.0 ± 23.8 | 0.86 |
| %DLCO/VA | 55.8 ± 23.5 | 57.5 ± 23.9 | 0.98 |
| Computer tomography | |||
| Low attenuation area (%) | 36.0 ± 14.7 | 34.6 ± 15.6 | 0.91 |
| Therapy (%) | |||
| Long‐acting β2 agonist | 87 | 91 | 1.00 |
| Long‐acting muscarinic antagonist | 82 | 94 | 0.29 |
| Inhaled corticosteroid2 | 100 | 84 | 0.01 |
| Systemic corticosteroid | 0 | 0 | – |
%VC, actual/predicted vital capacity (VC) ratio, in percentage; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec; FEV1%, FEV1/FVC ratio, in percentage; FEV1% predicted, actual/predicted FEV1 ratio, in percentage; %DLCO/VA, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide/alveolar volume, in percentage.
Parameters are shown as mean ± standard deviation, unless indicated otherwise.
Comparison between discovery and verification sets. Fisher's exact test (gender, smoking status, and therapy), chi‐square test (GOLD stage), and Student's t‐test (other parameters) were used to compare the two groups.
Inhaled (low dose) corticosteroid is prescribed to most patients as a part of therapy during stable period, while systemic (high dose) corticosteroid may be prescribed/administered to patients only during exacerbation. Blood samples were not collected from those patients who were undergoing systemic corticosteroid treatment for the episode of exacerbation.