Major clinical characteristics of subjects over four visits
| Visits | p-value | ||||
| Stable | Exacerbation | Post-therapy | Recovery | ||
| Visits | 106 | 137 | 136 | 97 | |
| FEV1 L | 1.3±0.1 | 1.1±0.1 | 1.2±0.1 | 1.2±0.1 | 0.1 |
| FEV1 % pred | 49.6±1.8 | 48.1±1.6 | 48.5±1.6 | 49.0±2.0 | 0.94 |
| FEV1/FVC ratio | 48.0±1.3 | 48.9±1.3 | 49.2±1.2 | 48.7±1.4 | 0.92 |
| CRQ score | 16.6±0.5 | 12.7±0.4 | 16.0±0.4 | 16.6±0.5 | <0.001 |
| Symptom VAS total mm | 174.2±8.5 | 255.7±6.5 | 150.2±7.5 | 151.7±8.5 | <0.001 |
| Sputum pathogen detection | 47 | 55 | 42 | 32 | 0.30 |
| Sputum cell count cells×106·g−1 | 5.8 (4.4–7.3) | 14.6 (11.7–17.5) | 8.1 (5.7–10.4) | 5.1 (3.6–6.6) | <0.001# |
| Sputum neutrophil count % | 69.1 (64.8–73.5) | 79.1 (75.4–82.9) | 74.2 (70.6–77.8) | 68.7 (63.9–73.5) | <0.001 |
| Sputum eosinophil count % | 2.8 (1.9–3.7) | 4.3 (2.6–6.0) | 1.5 (1.0–2.0) | 3.8 (2.3–5.3) | <0.01# |
| Sputum lymphocyte count % | 0.5 (0.4–0.7) | 0.5 (0.4–0.6) | 0.6 (0.4–0.7) | 0.5 (0.4–0.7) | 0.91 |
| Blood cell count cells×109·L−1 | 8.3 (7.7–8.9) | 9.5 (8.8–10.2) | 10.4 (9.5–11.2) | 8.8 (8.1–9.6) | <0.01 |
| Blood neutrophils cells×109·L−1 | 5.5 (5.1–5.9) | 6.9 (6.4–7.4) | 7.6 (7.1–8.2) | 5.9 (5.4–6.4) | <0.001 |
| Blood eosinophils cells×109·L−1 | 0.2 (0.2–0.3) | 0.3 (0.2–0.3) | 0.2 (0.2–0.3) | 0.3 (0.2–0.3) | 0.16 |
| Blood lymphocytes cells×109·L−1 | 2.1 (1.9–2.3) | 2.1 (2.0–2.3) | 2.3 (2.1–2.5) | 2.2 (2.0–2.5) | 0.29 |
| Blood basophils cells×109·L−1 | 0.04 (0.03–0.04) | 0.04 (0.04–0.04) | 0.04 (0.04–0.04) | 0.04 (0.04–0.05) | 0.62 |
Data are presented as n, mean±sem or mean (95% CI). FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; CRQ: Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire; VAS: visual analogue score. #: these variables were log transformed for statistical analysis.