Table 5.
Demographic variables, degree of dyspnoea, health status, capacity for physical exertion, analytical determinations, and radiological resolution at 12 weeks, according to the presence or absence of alterations in DLNO, or DLNO and DLCO.
| Variables | DLNO < LLN y DLCO > LLN N = 24 |
DLNO < LLN y DLCO < LLN N = 34 |
p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Male sex, N (%), | 20 (83.3) | 34 (100) | 0.01 |
| Age, years | 60 (51–69) | 68 (61.5–74) | 0.02 |
| Dyspnoea According to mMRC | |||
| Dyspnoea ≥ 1, N (%) | 12 (50) | 22 (64.7) | 0.20 |
| Dyspnoea ≥ 2, N (%) | 3 (12.5) | 9 (26.4) | 0.19 |
| Dyspnoea | 0.5 (0–1) | 1 (0–1) | 0.06 |
| Health Status According to Nottingham Health Profile | |||
| Energy | 0 (0–33.3) | 0 (0–33.3) | 0.88 |
| Pain | 6.2 (0–59.3) | 12.5 (0–62) | 0.51 |
| Physical mobility | 31.2 (0–50) | 25 (0–50) | 0.75 |
| Emotional reactions | 11.1 (0–44.4) | 11.1 (0–22.6) | 0.20 |
| Sleep | 30 (0–80) | 20 (0–80) | 0.99 |
| Social isolation | 0 (0–35) | 0 (0–20) | 0.19 |
| Number of limited areas | 3 (2–5) | 4 (2–5) | 0.84 |
| Respiratory Function Tests | |||
| FVC, % of predicted | 95 (84–106.2) | 89.9 (84–97.5) | 0.16 |
| FEV1, % of predicted | 94.5 (86.1–105.2) | 86.7 (80.7–99) | 0.31 |
| DLCO, % of predicted | 76 (72.2–80) | 55.3 (48.5–65.5) | 0.0001 |
| DLNO, % of predicted | 69 (62–70) | 51.2 (43–63) | 0.0001 |
| KCO, % of predicted | 96 (84–106.2) | 76.3 (68.7–86) | 0.0001 |
| KNO, % of predicted | 89 (81.2–94) | 74.4 (65–83.5) | 0.0001 |
| DMCO, % of predicted | 56 (50.2–61.7)) | 42.5 (33.5–56.2) | 0.0001 |
| VC, % of predicted | 81 (72.2–88.7) | 64 (33.5–56.2) | 0.0001 |
| VA, % of predicted | 79 (74–87) | 72.5 (62.7–84.2) | 0.13 |
| Exercise Capacity (6MWT) | |||
| 6-min walking distance, m | 450 (386–509) | 434 (347.5–462.7) | 0.30 |
| Initial oxygen saturation, % | 98 (97–98) | 98 (97–98) | 0.67 |
| Final oxygen saturation, % | 96 (95–97) | 95 (92.7–97.2) | 0.52 |
| Oxygen saturation drop, % | 2 (0.2–3) | 2 (1–4.2) | 0.30 |
| Borg Scale Dyspnoea Start (1–10) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–0) | 0.28 |
| Final Borg scale dyspnoea (1–10) | 1.5 (0.2–5.5) | 1 (0–4) | 0.33 |
| Laboratory Parameters | |||
| Lymphocytes × 109/L | 2 (1.4–2.5) | 1.7 (1.3–2.3) | 0.42 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 1.7 (0.9–3) | 1.8 (0.4–5) | 0.94 |
| D-dimer, ng/mL | 295 (215.2–523.7) | 510 (371.5–954.5) | 0.004 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase, U/L | 204 (185–222.5) | 199 (171.5–218.7) | 0.42 |
| Ferritin, ng/mL | 55 (21.2–154.2) | 83 (31.2–145.2) | 0.92 |
| NT-proBNP, pg/mL | 76 (22–157.7) | 116 (52–375) | 0.16 |
| Chest X-ray | |||
| Persistence of any lung injuries, N (%) | 13 (53.2) | 15 (44.1) | 0.45 |
6MWT: Six minutes walking test; DLCO: diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide; DLNO: diffusion capacity of nitric oxide; DMNO: membrane conductance of nitric oxide; KCO: Rate of uptake of carbon monoxide from alveolar gas; KNO: Rate of uptake of nitric oxide from alveolar gas; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in first one second; FVC: forced vital capacity; LLN: lower limits of normal; VA: alveolar lung volume; VC: pulmonary capillary blood volume.