Table 3. Comparison on the airway and serum inflammatory mediators.
| Items of measurement | Parameter | NAR (n=262) | AR (n=377) | Control (n=264) | P value* | P value† | P value‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airway or serum inflammation | Serum total IgE (kU/L) | 42.2 (15.8, 120.0) | 186.0 (62.0, 356.0) | 40.1 (27.5, 44.6) | <0.01^ | 0.08 | <0.01^ |
| Induced sputum Eos (%) | 0.5 (0.0, 2.0) | 2.0 (0.3, 7.5) | 0.25 (0.0, 0.5) | <0.01^ | 0.08 | <0.01^ | |
| Induced sputum Neu (%) | 50.4 (33.0, 75.3) | 45.5 (21.8, 66.5) | 47.3 (31.1, 71.8) | 0.127 | 0.352 | 0.288 | |
| FeNO (ppb) | 24.1 (14.0, 38.8) | 29.1 (18.0, 54.4) | 17.0 (12.0, 21.0) | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | |
| Abnormal rates of the airway or serum inflammatory indices | Serum total IgE (n, %) | 56, 21.4% | 211, 56.0% | 4, 1.5% | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | <0.01^ |
| Induced sputum Eos (n, %) | 43, 16.4% | 139, 36.9% | 7, 2.7% | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | |
| FeNO (n, %) | 127, 48.5% | 226, 59.9% | 48, 18.2% | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | |
| Positivity of inflammatory indices | Total positivity of airway inflammatory indices (n, %) | 140, 53.4% | 267, 70.8% | 64, 24.2% | <0.01^ | <0.01^ | <0.01^ |
Abnormal rate of serum total IgE: % of IgE ≥150 IU/L; abnormal rate of induced sputum Eos: % of induced sputum Eos ≥2.5%; abnormal rate of FeNO: % of FeNO ≥25 ppb. Data of the airway or serum inflammation were presented as median (interquartile range) because of the non-normal distribution. * denoted the comparison between group NAR and healthy subjects; †, denoted comparison between group AR and healthy subjects; ‡, denoted the comparison between group NAR and group AR. Data with ^ indicated the between-group comparison with statistical significance. NAR, non-allergic rhinitis; AR, allergic rhinitis; FeNO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; ppb, parts per billion.