Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the study subjects who underwent broncholaveolar lavage
| Items | Normal controls | IPF | NSIP | HP | Sarcoidosis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | 41 | 86 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
| Age (year) | 55(35–72) | 67(59–75)* | 60.1(39–70) | 51.3(28–70)† | 43.3 (28–69)† |
| Sex (male/female) | 24/17 | 51/ 35 | 9/13 | 10/10 | 10/9 |
| Smoke (CS/ES/NS) | 9/11/14 | 19/25/36 | 2/5/12 | 3/3/12 | 5/2/9 |
| Survival/Death | ND | 57/21 | ND | ND | ND |
| Follow up duration (years) | ND | 3.6(1.6–6.5) | ND | ND | ND |
| FVC (% pred.) | 106.1(87.0–119.0) | 67.0(52.0–80.0)* | 78.0(66.0–91.8)* | 64.5(57.0–82.5)* | 77.0(65.0–86.0)* |
| FEV1 (% pred.) | 102.1(88.2–117.0) | 83.0(59.0–93.0)* | 85.0(73.8–101.3)* | 74.5(64.3–92.0)* | 85.0(64.0–101.0)* |
| DLCO (% pred.) | 85.6(77.5–108.0) | 57.0(46.0–71.0)* | 76.0(59.0–92.0)* | 67.0(55.0–90.0)* | 75.5(57.8–84.5)* |
| dFVC (%/year) | NA | –7.1(–15.8–2.8) | NA | NA | NA |
| BAL total cell count (×104/mL) | 3.46 ± 0.82 | 7.58 ± 2.24* | 17.64 ± 3.86* | 13.03 ± 3.78* | 8.45 ± 3.78* |
| Macrophages (×104/mL) | 3.02 ± 0.41 | 5.12 ± 1.71* | 11.51 ± 3.07* | 8.25 ± 2.38* | 6.76 ± 3.79* |
| Neutrophils (×104/mL) | 0.21 ± 0.047 | 1.45 ± 0.38* | 2.31 ± 1.01* | 3.14 ± 2.36* | 0.45 ± 0.16* |
| Eosinophils (×104/mL) | 0.02 ± 0.01 | 0.29 ± 0.07* | 0.45 ± 0.14* | 0.41 ± 0.19* | 0.11 ± 0.07 |
| Lymphocytes (×104/mL) | 0.04 ± 0.01 | 0.14 ± 0.05 | 2.68 ± 0.18*† | 2.20 ± 0.19*† | 2.17 ± 0.24*† |
IPF: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, NSIP: Nonspecific interstitial fibrosis, HP: Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
CS /ES/NS: current-smokers/ex-smokers/ never-smokers, ND: not determined, dFVC(%): annual decline rate of FVC
Difference in patient characteristics and pulmonary function test, shown as median (IQR), among the controls, IPF, NSIP, HP and sarcoidosis groups were calculated with Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance and Mann-Whitney U-test as post-hoc test
BAL cell numbers, shown as mean ± standard error of the mean, among the five groups were compared using one-way ANOVA analysis of variance with Tukey’s honestly significant difference test as post-hoc test
Significances: Compared with control: *P <0.05, compared with IPF: † P < 0.05