Table 4.
Clinical Characteristics of PBE-High and PBE-Low COPD
| PBE-High | PBE-Low | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample number (n) | 40 | 56 | |
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Sex, female n (%) | 15 (37.5) | 20 (35.7) | 0.86 |
| Age, years (range) | 70.0 (52.4–81.5) | 71.4 (54.4–83.5) | 0.06 |
| BMI, (kg/m2) | 30.4 (29.0, 35.1) | 28.7 (25.2, 33.0) | 0.14 |
| Ex-smoker, n (%) | 35 (87.5) | 53 (94.6) | 0.27 |
| Ex-smoker pack years (n=88) | 42.8 (22.0, 62.0) (n=35) | 53.8 (40.0, 72.0) (n=53) | 0.03 |
| ICS use, n (%) | 37 (92.5) | 51 (91.1) | 1.00 |
| ICS dose (Beclomethasone equiv. µg/day) (n=86) | 2000 (1000, 2000) (n=36) | 1500 (500, 2000) (n=50) | 0.01 |
| LABA use, n (%) | 40 (100.0) | 54 (96.4) | 0.51 |
| LAMA use, n (%) | 37 (92.5) | 52 (92.9) | 1.00 |
| SGRQ total | 58.0 ± 19.4 | 53.9 ± 15.8 | 0.26 |
| CAT total | 22.1 ± 7.2 | 20.3 ± 6.0 | 0.19 |
| Pre β2 FEV1% predicted (n=95) | 45.9 (38.8, 60.8) (n=39) | 51.6 (39.8, 64.5) (n=56) | 0.22 |
| Pre β2 FVC % predicted (n=91) | 73.1 (58.5, 82.4) (n=37) | 76.1 (65.7, 87.1) (n=54) | 0.14 |
| Pre β2 FEV1/FVC % (n=91) | 48.0 (38.8, 65.1) (n=37) | 51.1 (35.2, 61.6) (n=54) | 0.92 |
| Post β2 FEV1% predicted (n=95) | 49.0 (40.4, 61.5) (n=40) | 53.2 (41.3, 67.9) (n=55) | 0.30 |
| Post β2 FVC % predicted (n=93) | 74.9 (59.9, 84.9) (n=39) | 78.6 (68.9, 87.4) (n=54) | 0.15 |
| Post β2 FEV1/FVC % (n=93) | 52.7 (40.0, 65.3) (n=39) | 52.4 (35.7, 62.7) (n=54) | 0.66 |
| Number of total exacerbations in past 12 months | 3.0 (1.0, 5.5) | 2.0 (1.0, 3.0) | 0.19 |
| Number of severe exacerbations in past 12 months (n=95) | 0 (0, 1.0) (n=44) | 1.0 (0, 1.0) (n=55) | 0.62 |
| GOLD quadrant A, n (%) | 2 (5.0) | 1 (1.8) | 0.06 |
| GOLD quadrant B, n (%) | 5 (12.5) | 17 (30.4) | |
| GOLD quadrant C, n (%) | 1 (2.5) | 0 (0) | |
| GOLD quadrant D, n (%) | 32 (80.0) | 38 (67.9) | |
| Induced sputum analysis | |||
| Sputum cell viability, % (n=95) | 80.6 (71.4, 94.1) (n=40) | 80.8 (63.6, 92.0) (n=55) | 0.67 |
| Sputum total cell count, x 106/mL (n=95) | 5.1 (3.1, 10.7) (n=40) | 5.2 (2.7, 10.2) (n=55) | 0.76 |
| Sputum neutrophils % | 58.1 (41.6, 80.6) | 62.3 (42.4, 79.0) | 0.66 |
| Sputum eosinophils % | 3.5 (1.9, 12.3) | 1.0 (0.5, 2.3) | <0.0001 |
| Sputum macrophages % | 28.5 (15.8, 41.5) | 33.1 (16.0, 45.8) | 0.26 |
| Sputum lymphocytes % | 0.8 (1.3, 1.9) | 1.3 (0.3, 2.1) | 0.19 |
| Sputum columnar epithelial cell % | 2.0 (0.8, 3.9) | 1.8 (0.3, 5.3) | 0.96 |
| Peripheral blood eosinophil count (x109/L) | 0.4 (0.3, 0.6) | 0.2 (0.1, 0.2) | <0.0001 |
Notes: Data presented as n (%), mean ± SD or median (Q1, Q3). Peripheral blood eosinophil (PBE) high (≥300 cells/µL). PBE low (<300 cells/µL). Bolding indicates significance (p-value <0.05).
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; LABA, long-acting β2 agonist; LAMA, long-acting muscarinic antagonist; SGRQ, St George Respiratory Questionnaire; CAT, COPD Assessment Tool; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC, forced vital capacity.