Table 1.
Characteristics of subjects included in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) study
| Healthy Non-smokers | Asthma | COPD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of subjects | 16 | 23 | 25 |
| Sex (M/F) | 11/5 | 11/12 | 11/14 |
| Age (years) | 56.75 ± 2.71 | 54.22 ± 3.05 | 66.96 ± 1.76ll** |
| Pack-years | 0 | 0 | 39.10±3.70 |
| Time since diagnosis (years) | – | 10.13 ± 2.34 | 4.46 ± 0.84‡ |
| PB FEV1% of predicted (%) | 107.90 ± 3.23 | 82.59 ± 4.56 | 62.32 ± 2.76*† |
| PB FEV1/FVC (%) | 76.32 ± 1.46 | 68.14 ± 2.38 | 54.03 ± 1.89*† |
| Current smokers (%) | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Use of ICS (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atopic subjects (%) | 0 | 56.52 | 0 |
| Blood eosinophil number (cells/μl) | 181 ± 35 | 315 ± 35§ | 242 ± 31 |
| Blood eosinophil percentage (%) | 3.01 ± 0.54 | 4.74 ± 0.59§ | 3.16 ± 0.41 |
PB post bronchodilator, FEV1 forced expiratory volume in first second, FVC forced vital capacity, ICS inhaled corticosteroids
*COPD vs Asthma p < 0.001; †COPD vs Healthy Non-smokers p < 0.001; ‡COPD vs Asthma p < 0.01; §Asthma vs Healthy Non-smokers p < 0.05; llCOPD vs Healthy Non-smokers p < 0.05; **COPD vs Asthma p < 0.01