Skip to main content
. 2020 Feb 26;75(3):269–278. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2019-213808

Table 2.

Clinical and respiratory parameters measured at TB treatment completion, 6-month and 12-month study visits

Parameter TB treatment completion 6-month visit 12-month visit P value:
(n=405) (n=376) (n=368) Baseline vs 12 months*
Self-reported symptom prevalence (%, 95%  CI )
Breathlessness
 Never/only with chest infections 227 (56.0%, 51.1% to 60.9%) 283 (75.3%, 70.6% to 79.5%) 282 (76.6%, 72.0% to 80.9%) <0.001
 Few days per month 161 (39.8%, 35.0% to 44.7%) 79 (21.0%, 17.0% to 25.5%) 76 (20.7%, 16.6% to 25.2%)
 ≥Several days per week 17 (4.2%, 2.5% to 6.6%) 14 (3.7%, 2.1% to 6.2%) 10 (2.7%, 1.3% to 4.9%)
Cough
 Never/only with chest infections 259 (64.0%, 59.1% to 68.6%) 284 (75.5%, 70.9% to 79.8%) 307 (83.4%, 79.2% to 87.1%) <0.001
 Few days per month 135 (33.3%, 28.8% to 38.2%) 76 (20.2%, 16.3% to 24.6%) 54 (14.7%, 11.2% to 18.7%)
 ≥Several days per week 11 (2.7%, 1.4% to 4.8%) 16 (4.3%, 2.5% to 6.8%) 7 (1.9%, 0.8% to 3.9%)
Sputum production
 Never/only with chest infections 300 (74.1%, 69.5% to 78.3%) 300 (79.8%, 75.4% to 83.7%) 318 (86.4%, 82.5% to 89.7%) <0.001
 Few days per month 97 (23.9%, 19.9% to 28.4%) 70 (18.6%, 14.8% to 22.9%) 47 (12.8%, 9.5% to 16.6%)
 ≥Several days per week 8 (2.0%, 0.9% to 3.9%) 6 (1.6%, 0.6% to 3.4%) 3 (0.8%, 0.2% to 2.4%)
Wheeze
 Never/only with chest infections 372 (91.8%, 88.7% to 94.3%) 346 (92.0%, 88.8% to 94.6%) 352 (95.7%, 93.0% to 97.5%) 0.091
 Few days per month 29 (7.2%, 4.8% to 10.1%) 28 (7.5%, 5.0% to 10.6%) 16 (4.3%, 2.5% to 7.0%)
 ≥Several days per week 4 (1.0%, 0.3% to 2.5%) 2 (0.5%, 0.1% to 1.9%) 0
Any respiratory symptom, ≥monthly 246 (60.7%, 55.8% to 65.5%) 138 (36.7%, 31.8% to 41.8%) 113 (30.7%, 26.0% to 35.7%) <0.001
Self-reported symptom impact (%, 95%  CI )
Impact of chest on activities
 Does not stop any activities 200 (49.4%, 44.4% to 54.4%) 290 (77.1%, 72.5% to 81.3%) 295 (80.2%, 75.7% to 84.1%) <0.001
 Prevents one to two activities 165 (40.7%, 35.9% to 45.7%) 69 (18.4%, 14.6% to 22.6%) 57 (15.5%, 11.9% to 19.6%)
 Prevents most/all activities 40 (9.9%, 7.2% to 13.2%) 17 (4.5%, 2.7% to 7.1%) 16 (4.3%, 2.5% to 7.0%)
Impact of chest on work
 Does not affect work 243 (60.0%, 55.0% to 64.8%) 309 (82.2%, 77.9% to 85.9%) 323 (87.8%, 84.0% to 90.9%) <0.001
 Interferes with/made me change work 148 (36.5%, 31.8% to 41.4%) 57 (15.2%, 11.7% to 19.2%) 38 (10.3%, 7.4% to 13.9%)
 Made me stop work 14 (3.5%, 1.9% to 5.7%) 10 (2.7%, 1.3% to 4.8%) 7 (1.9%, 0.8% to 3.9%)
Breathless at rest/during personal care 2 (0.5%, 0.1% to 1.8%) 2 (0.5%, 0.1% to 1.9%) 2 (0.5%, 0.1% to 1.9%) 1.000
Walks slower than peers/stops for rest at own pace 108 (26.8%, 22.5% to 31.4%) 57 (15.2%, 11.7% to 19.2%) 64 (17.4%, 13.7% to 21.7%) 0.002
Breathless on hills 176 (43.7%, 38.8% to 48.7%) 82 (21.8%, 17.7% to 26.3%) 83 (22.6%, 18.4% to 27.2%) <0.001
Quality of life
Self-reported general health (%, 95% CI)
 Poor/fair 115 (28.4%, 24.1% to 33.1%) 54 (14.4%, 11.0% to 18.3%) 22 (6.0%, 3.8% to 8.9%) <0.001
 Good/excellent 290 (71.6%, 66.9% to 75.9%) 322 (85.6%, 81.7% to 89.0%) 346 (94.0%, 91.1% to 96.2%)
SGRQ total score (median, IQR) 8.8 (1.3–23.4) 0.4 (0–10.6) 0.4 (0–6.9) <0.001
SGRQ symptom score (median, IQR) 10.3 (2.7–23.1) 2.7 (0–13.7) 2.7 (0–13.7) <0.001
SGRQ activity score (median, IQR) 11.2 (0–35.5) 0 (0–11.9) 0 (0–6.2) <0.001
SGRQ impact score (median, IQR) 5.6 (0–15.5) 0 (0–5.7) 0 (0–3.7) <0.001
Clinical observations
BMI (kg/m2) (median, IQR) 20.5 (19.0–22.3) 21.0 (19.4–22.7) 21.1 (19.5–23.2) <0.001
Oxygen saturations (%) (median, IQR) 98 (97–99) 98 (97–99) 98 (97–98) <0.001
Hypoxaemia (sats<92%) (%, 95% CI) 6 (1.5%, 0.5% to 3.2%) 6 (1.6%, 0.6% to 3.4%) 4 (1.1%, 0.3% to 2.8%) 0.706
Respiratory rate (breaths/minute) (median, IQR) 18 (17–20) 19 (18–21) 20 (19–22) <0.001
Heart rate (beats/minute) (median, IQR) 78 (68–89) 77 (68–86) 77 (67–86) 0.019
Pedal oedema (%, 95% CI) 7 (1.7%, 0.7% to 3.5%) 3 (0.8%, 0.2% to 2.3%) 3 (0.8%, 0.2% to 2.4%) 0.317
Palatal Kaposi sarcoma (n=368) (%, 95% CI) 8 (2.2%, 0.9% to 4.2%) 10 (2.7%, 1.3% to 4.8%) 1 (0.3%, 0.0% to 1.5%) 0.008
Blood tests
Haemoglobin (g/dL) (median, IQR) 13.7 (12.3–15.1)
Positive aspergillus IgG ELISA (%, 95% CI) 3 (0.7%, 0.2% to 2.1%) 2 (0.5%, 0.1% to 1.9%) 0.564
6  min ute walk test ( n = 395 / 355 )
Distance (m) (mean, SD) 568 m (79.7 m) 611.2 m (71.0 m) <0.001
Spirometry ( n = 365 / 341 / 336 )
FEV1 z-score (mean, SD) −1.06 (1.26) −0.90 (1.25) −0.88 (1.19) <0.001
FVC z-score (mean, SD) −0.91 (1.23) −0.66 (1.19) −0.61 (1.09) <0.001
FEV1/FVC ratio z-score (mean, SD) −0.38 (1.26) −0.51 (1.28) −0.54 (1.29) <0.001
Pattern of spirometry (%, 95% CI)
 Obstruction (FEV1/FVC ratio <LLN) 52 (14.2%, 10.8% to 18.3%) 61 (17.9%, 14.0% to 22.4%) 60 (17.9%, 13.9% to 22.4%) <0.001
 Low FVC (FEV1/FVC ratio ≥LLN and FVC <LLN) 73 (20.0%, 16.0% to 24.5%) 45 (13.2%, 9.8% to 17.3%) 43 (12.8%, 9.4% to 16.8%)
 Normal (FEV1/FVC ratio ≥LLN and FVC ≥LLN) 240 (65.8%, 60.6% to 70.6%) 235 (68.9%, 63.7% to 73.8%) 233 (69.4%, 73.5% to 82.6%)
CXR findings ( n = 403 / 361 )
% abnormal parenchyma (median (IQR), (range)) 2.9 (0.4–9.2) (0–51.7) 2.1 (0–7.1) (0–70.8) <0.001
Ring and tramline severity score (0–18) (median (IQR), (range)) 1 (0–3) (0–13.5) 1 (0–2.5) (0–14.5) 0.1

*Pairwise comparisons between baseline and 12-month data using McNemar’s test for categorical variables, and Student’s t-test/Wilcoxon rank-sum for continuous variables.

†Symptom questions derived from SGRQ: Over the past 3 months I have (had shortness of breath / coughed / brought up sputum / had attacks of wheezing): not at all/only with chest infections / a few days a month / several days a week / most days a week; If you have tried to work in the past 3 months: my chest trouble does not affect my work / my chest trouble interferes with my work or made me change my work / my chest trouble made me stop work; Which of these statements best describes how your chest affects you: It does not stop me doing anything I would like to do / it stops me doing one to two things I would like to do / it stops me doing most of the things I would like to do / it stops me doing everything I would like to do.

‡BOLD standard data available for n=365/405 at baseline, n=341/376 at 6 months, and n=336/368 at 12 month study visits. Data age / sex / height standardised using GLI 2012 African-American reference ranges to generate z-scores.

BMI, body mass index; CXR, chest radiography; GLI-2012, Global Lung Initiative 2012; LLN, lower limit of normal; SGRQ, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire.