Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics at baseline and during the follow-up period.
| Patients with Microbiological Clearance (n = 22) | Patients without Microbiological Clearance (n = 32) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (M/F) | 9/13 | 22/10 | 0.06 |
| Positive SPT or RAST * | 7 | 9 | 0.77 |
| History of wheezing | 8 | 11 | 0.88 |
| Inhaled steroids | 10 | 14 | 0.90 |
| Number of patients with at least one IV antibiotic course | 1 | 2 | 0.80 |
| Median (IQR) number of exacerbations | 5 (2–7) | 6 (3–8) | 0.71 |
| Median (IQR) age of wet cough onset (years) | 1.3 (0.4–4.0) | 1.1 (0.5–2.3) | 0.57 |
| Median (IQR) duration of wet cough before the isolation of Pa (years) | 1.5 (0.9–3.1) | 1.5 (1.1–2.7) | 0.88 |
| Median (IQR) duration of follow-up (years) | 1.9 (1.0–3.6) | 1.8 (1.1–3.1) | 0.88 |
| Median (IQR) age of first Pa isolation (years) | 2.6 (1.5–6.1) | 2.6 (1.5–4.5) | 0.58 |
| Patients with Pa isolation more than once | 1 (4.5%) | 9 (28.1%) | 0.036 |
| Other isolated bacteria | |||
|
2 (9.0%) 5 (22.7%) 3 (13.6%) 3 (13.6%) 5 (22.7%) |
4 (12.5%) 3 (9.3%) 4 (12.5%) 3 (9.3%) 10 (31.2%) |
0.69 0.25 0.90 0.67 0.55 |
| Children on long-term inhaled colistin (n; %) | 18 (81.8%) | 11 (34.4%) | 0.001 |
| Median (IQR) duration of treatment with inhaled colistin (months) | 1.2 (0.8–2.7) | 1.4 (1.0–3.1) | 0.82 |
| Children on long-term azithromycin (n;%) | 15 (68.1%) | 14 (43.7%) | 0.08 |
| Median (IQR) duration of treatment with azithromycin (months) | 0.8 (0.5–1.7) | 1.1 (0.8–2.3) | 0.52 |
| Children on long-term nebulized hypertonic saline (n;%) | 17 (77.2%) | 17 (53.1%) | 0.09 |
| ppFEV1 (IQR) ** | 93 (89.5–98.5) | 90.5 (89–96.5) | 0.71 |
| Children with radiologically confirmed bronchiectasis | 6 (27.2%) | 20 (62.5%) | 0.011 |
| Median (IQR) modified Bhalla score *** | 3 (2–4) | 4 (2–5) | 0.35 |
Pa: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; IQR: Interquartile range; Gram-negative: Pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia); * Positive SPT or RAST: Positive skin prick tests or significant levels of specific IgE antibodies to common aeroallergens; ** Percent predicted FEV1 (ppFEV1) was measured only in 16 patients; *** Measured only in 26 patients with established bronchiectasis.