Cluster 1: “Pseudomonas” | Cluster 2: “Other chronic infection” | Cluster 3: “Daily sputum” | Cluster 4: “Dry bronchiectasis” | Overall p-value | |
Patients | 179 (100) | 273 (100) | 373 (100) | 307 (100) | |
Centre | <0.0001 | ||||
Dundee, UK | 44 (24) | 128 (47) | 90 (24) | 24 (8) | |
Leuven, Belgium | 16 (9) | 19 (7) | 66 (18) | 89 (29) | |
Monza, Italy | 23 (13) | 24 (9) | 87 (23) | 96 (31) | |
Galway, Ireland | 39 (22) | 78 (28) | 74 (20) | 89 (29) | |
Athens, Greece | 57 (32) | 24 (9) | 56 (15) | 9 (3) | |
Demographics and comorbidities | |||||
Age years | 67 (56–75) | 65 (56–73) | 67 (57–74) | 66 (55–74) | 0.52 |
Male | 81 (45) | 112 (41) | 148 (40) | 109 (36) | 0.19 |
BMI kg·m–2 | 25 (21–27) | 25 (22–28) | 25 (22–28) | 25 (21–28) | 0.47 |
Smoker/ex-smoker | 56 (31) | 90 (33) | 165 (44) | 121 (39) | 0.005 |
CCI >1 | 53 (30) | 101 (37) | 113 (30) | 106 (35) | 0.20 |
Disease severity | |||||
BSI score | 14 (11–17) | 7 (5–10) | 6 (3–9) | 5 (3–7) | 0.0001 |
FACED score | 4 (2–5) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (0–3) | <0.001 |
Radiological status | |||||
Reiff score | 6 (4–9) | 4 (2–6) | 3 (2–6) | 3 (2–6) | 0.0001 |
Clinical status | |||||
Daily cough | 170 (95) | 241 (88) | 322 (86) | 154 (50) | <0.0001 |
Daily sputum | 166 (93) | 204 (75) | 362 (97) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
Prior history of haemoptysis | 42 (24) | 36 (13) | 80 (22) | 43 (14) | 0.002 |
MRC breathlessness scale | 3 (2–5) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (1–2) | 0.0001 |
Long-term oxygen therapy | 34 (19) | 14 (5.1) | 36 (9.7) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
Exacerbations in the previous year | 3 (2–4) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 0.0001 |
At least one hospitalisation in the previous year | 109 (61) | 63 (23) | 90 (24) | 36 (12) | <0.0001 |
Functional status | |||||
FEV1 % predicted | 59 (46–78) | 71 (55–93) | 77 (57–95) | 84 (68–101) | 0.0001 |
Microbiology | |||||
Chronic infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 179 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
Chronic infection with other pathogens | 0 (0) | 273 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | <0.0001 |
Laboratory findings | |||||
C-reactive protein mg·L−1 | 10.7 (4.0–36.0) | 5.0 (3.7–9.0) | 4.5 (2.0–7.7) | 3.0 (1.2–7.2) | 0.0001 |
Long-term antibiotic treatment | |||||
Either macrolide or inhaled antibiotics | 120 (67) | 105 (39) | 122 (33) | 38 (12) | <0.0001 |
Macrolide | 97 (54) | 103 (38) | 119 (32) | 37 (12) | <0.0001 |
Inhaled antibiotics | 64 (36) | 15 (5.5) | 7 (1.9) | 2 (0.7) | <0.0001 |
Both macrolide and inhaled | 41 (23) | 13 (4.8) | 4 (1.1) | 1 (0.3) | <0.0001 |
Data are presented as n (%) or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. BMI: body mass index; CCI: Charlson Comorbidity Index; BSI: Bronchiectasis Severity Index; MRC: Medical Research Council; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s.