Table 1.
—Patient Characteristics
| Characteristic | 21 Gauge (n = 240) | 22 Gauge (n = 995) | Total (N = 1,235) | P Valuea |
| Age, y | 63 ± 15 | 63 ± 13 | 63 ± 13 | .85 |
| Female sex | 113 (47) | 478 (48) | 591 (48) | .79 |
| White race | 185 (77) | 816 (82) | 1,001 (81) | .08 |
| Current/prior smoker | 174 (73) | 736 (74) | 910 (74) | .64 |
| Presence of at least one comorbid conditionb | 107 (45) | 459 (46) | 566 (46) | .67 |
| Lymph nodes sampled per patient | 2.1 ± 0.9 | 2.3 ± 1.2 | 2.2 ± 1.2 | .01 |
Data are presented as mean ± SD or No. (%).
a
Calculated using χ tests for categorical variables and Student t tests for continuous variables.
b
Comorbities include COPD, congestive heart failure, history of stroke, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, renal failure while on or off dialysis, and hematologic malignancy.