Table 3.
Clinical characteristics of patients according to etiology
| Clinical characteristics (N = 192) | PCP (N = 59) | DILD (N = 49) | Viral pneumonia (N = 34) | HP (N = 25) | Granuloma-tosis (N = 25) | P* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 57 ± 16 | 65 ± 13 | 54 ± 17 | 60 ± 14 | 50 ± 15 | 0.001 |
| Male | 29 (49) | 26 (53) | 17 (50) | 16 (64) | 20 (80) | 0.08 |
| Smoking status | ||||||
| Smoker (NA = 3) | 24 (40) | 21 (43) | 10 (29) | 8 (32) | 12 (48) | 0.5 |
| Pack-years | 18 ± 14 | 30 ± 30 | 23 ± 18 | 14 ± 16 | 21 ± 16 | 0.5 |
| Comorbidities | ||||||
| Immunocompromised | 59 (100) | 46 (94) | 27 (80) | 2 (8) | 6 (24) | 0.0001 |
| Solid cancer | 18 (32) | 27 (56) | 7 (21) | 5 (20) | 1 (4) | 0.0005 |
| Hematological cancer | 22 (37) | 7 (14) | 15 (45) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.0001 |
| Solid organ transplant | 19 (31) | 7 (15) | 7 (21) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | 0.0008 |
| Bone marrow transplant | 9 (15) | 0 (0) | 8 (23) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.0004 |
| Connective tissue disease | 6 (11) | 6 (13) | 1 (3) | 1 (4) | 0 (0) | 0.3 |
| HIV | 4 (7) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.3 |
| Treatments | ||||||
| Corticosteroids | 31 (52) | 17 (34) | 12 (35) | 0 (0) | 5 (20) | 0.0005 |
| Dose, mg/day | 20 ± 19 | 13 ± 10 | 12 ± 9 | – | 11 ± 3 | 0.7 |
| Methotrexate | 6 (10) | 6 (12) | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | 0.4 |
| Mycophenolate mofetil | 9 (15) | 2 (4) | 4 (12) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.03 |
| Ciclosporin | 6 (10) | 4 (8) | 8 (23) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | 0.04 |
| Chemotherapy | 12 (20) | 14 (28) | 2 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.0002 |
| Immunotherapy | 3 (5) | 7 (14) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.02 |
| Pneumocystis prophylaxis | 13 (21) | 3 (6) | 15 (44) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | 0.0001 |
| Physical examination | ||||||
| Fever | 39 (66) | 15 (30) | 27 (79) | 2 (8) | 2 (8) | 0.0001 |
| Deterioration of general condition | 9 (15) | 5 (10) | 6 (17) | 4 (16) | 3 (12) | 0.9 |
| Cough | 31 (52) | 28 (57) | 21 (62) | 18 (72) | 11 (44) | 0.3 |
| Dyspnea | 48 (81) | 44 (89) | 28 (82) | 21 (84) | 14 (56) | 0.02 |
| Expectorations | 12 (20) | 7 (14) | 9 (26) | 7 (28) | 4 (16) | 0.5 |
| Extra-thoracic signs | 2 (3) | 4 (8) | 2 (6) | 4 (16) | 14 (56) | 0.0001 |
Bold was used when the statistically significant threshold was reached
Data are presented as mean ± SD or N (%)
SD standard deviation, N number, NA not applicable, PCP Pneumocystis pneumonia, DILD Drug-induced lung disease, HP Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
*Multiple testing issue was tackled using Benjamini–Hochberg method by limiting False Discovery Rate to 5%. Statistical significance threshold was at 3%