TABLE 2.
Induced sputum characteristics of the study population
| Induced sputum | Healthy | GINA | p-value | ||
| Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | |||
| Subjects | 8 | 14 | 14 | 13 | |
| Sputum total cell count ×106 | 0.8 (0.04–14.2) | 0.5 (0.03–3.6) | 1.5 (0.03–17.2) | 0.6 (0.08–12.5) | >0.05 |
| Neutrophils % | 37.2±21.4 | 44.6±31.3 | 52.6±25.2 | 55.0±24.8 | >0.05 |
| Eosinophils % | 0 (0–2.3)# | 0.8 (0–6.8) | 1.3 (0–24.3) | 2.0 (0–28.8) | 0.07 |
| Macrophages % | 57.5±24.9 | 50.7±32.5 | 40.6±24.8 | 38.1±23.2 | >0.05 |
| Lymphocytes % | 0.1 (0–2.5) | 0 (0–2.8)#,¶ | 0.6 (0–2.3) | 0.5 (0–3.5) | 0.03 |
| Absolute neutrophil count ×106·g−1 sputum | 1.0 (0.1–3.4) | 1.2 (0.03–5.4) | 1.6 (0.2–16.5) | 1.2 (0.2–19.3) | >0.05 |
| Absolute eosinophil count ×106·g−1 sputum | 0 (0–0.04)#,¶ | 0.03 (0–0.3)# | 0.07 (0–0.4) | 0.04 (0–0.7) | 0.007 |
| Absolute macrophage count ×106·g−1 sputum | 1.5 (0.5–3.9) | 0.8 (0.5–1.4) | 0.9 (0.5–1.9) | 1.0 (0.6–1.6) | >0.05 |
| Absolute lymphocytes count ×106·g−1 sputum | 0.01(0–0.2) | 0 (0–0.2)#,¶ | 0.02 (0–0.3) | 0.02 (0–0.2) | 0.04 |
Data are presented median (interquartile range) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. For absolute eosinophil count geometric mean was used. GINA: Global Initiative for Asthma. Parametric data analysed by one-way ANOVA, non-parametric data analysed by Kruskal–Wallis. #: p<0.05 versus GINA step 2; ¶: p<0.05 versus GINA step 3.