Table 6.
Characteristics of biomarkers in four imaging-based clusters
| Cluster 1 | Cluster 2 | Cluster 3 | Cluster 4 | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 100 | N = 80 | N = 141 | N = 85 | ||
| Blood/serum biomarkers | |||||
| RBC distribution width (%) |
13.69 (1.49) |
13.66 (1.62) |
13.77 (1.54) |
13.78 (1.57) |
0.953 |
| Total WBC count (N/μl) |
6203.8 (1595.18) |
6773.08 (1954.3) |
6907.27 (1721.5) |
7330.24 (2155.13) |
0.0005 |
| Neutrophils% (%) |
59.74 (8.48) |
61.17 (9.35) |
62.12 (8.32) |
63.5 (11.2) |
0.044 |
| Lymphocyte% (%) |
28.38 (7.98) |
27.28 (8.74) |
25.97 (7.14) |
23.9 (9.47) |
0.002 |
| Monocyte% (%) |
7.97 (2.43) |
7.72 (2.44) |
8.3 (2.55) |
8.06 (2.71) |
0.432 |
| Eosinophils% (%) |
3.29 (2.12) |
3.18 (1.98) |
2.85 (1.62) |
2.64 (1.73) |
0.071 |
| Basophils% (%) |
0.68 (0.41) |
0.59 (0.41) |
0.65 (0.52) |
0.57 (0.56) |
0.321 |
| Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-3) (pg/mL) |
10.17 (8.1) |
8.41 (4.65) |
11.07 (6.12) |
12.43 (10.57) |
0.0082 |
| Baseline CAT score a | |||||
|
9.36 (6.19) |
10.73 (6.61) |
10.96 (6.38) |
17.06 (7.34) |
< 0.0001 | |
| Exacerbations | |||||
| Severeb |
0.08 (0.34) |
0.25 (1.11) |
0.23 (0.7) |
0.84 (1.61) |
< 0.0001 |
| Totalc |
0.44 (0.96) |
0.81 (1.78) |
0.94 (1.52) |
2.56 (3.09) |
< 0.0001 |
| Total at baselined |
0.16 (0.44) |
0.32 (0.87) |
0.21 (0.53) |
0.66 (0.92) |
< 0.0001 |
| Activity limitation | |||||
| 6-min walk distance (m) |
459.23 (84.5) |
431.4 (91.71) |
412.76 (113.09) |
338.5 (114.57) |
< 0.0001 |
| Oxygen desaturation with 6-min walk (%) | 18 | 17 | 36 | 76 | < 0.0001 |
Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests were performed for continuous and categorical variables, respectively, and their P values were reported
aCAT score range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater severity symptoms
bTotal count of exacerbations requiring ED visit or hospitalization since entering the study
cTotal count of exacerbations since entering the study
dTotal Exacerbations for baseline