Relationship between the number of mast cells and the number of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage, in the submucosa, and with markers of remodelling in children with asthma
| Asthma | Correlations | |||
| SM c-kit mm−2 | ASM c-kit mm−2 | Giemsa mm−2 | ||
| Number of patients | 36 | |||
| Bronchoalveolar lavage ×103·mL−1 | ||||
| Macrophages | 62.2 (35.5–83.4) | p=0.07, r= −0.38 | p=0.45, r= −0.16 | p=0.09, r= −0.34 |
| Eosinophils | 1 (0.7–3.5) | p=0.11, r=0.20 | p=0.46, r=0.13 | p=0.17, r=0.25 |
| Neutrophils | 3.6 (2.3–6.5) | p=0.45, r=0.14 | p=0.38, r=0.16 | p=0.97, r= −0.01 |
| Mast cells | 0 (0–0) | p=0.65, r=0.09 | p=0.22, r=0.25 | p=0.09, r=0.34 |
| Lymphocytes | 4 (3.3–6.5) | p=0.21, r=0.23 | p=0.63, r=0.09 | p=0.17, r=0.24 |
| Submucosal infiltration mm−2 | ||||
| Eosinophils | 8.5 (5.1–20.3) | p<0.01, r=0.44 | p=0.02, r=0.40 | p<0.01, r=0.44 |
| Neutrophils | 44.1 (30.5–59.3) | p=0.10, r= −0.28 | p=0.28, r= −0.19 | p=0.23, r= −0.21 |
| Lymphocytes | 131.4 (93.1–190.7) | p=0.36, r=0.19 | p=0.30, r=0.22 | p=0.20, r=0.26 |
| Markers of remodelling | ||||
| RBM thickness µm | 6.8 (5.5–8.4) | p=0.22, r=0.21 | p=0.13, r=0.26 | p=0.11, r=0.27 |
| ASM area % | 16.5 (10–23.8) | p=0.45, r=0.14 | p=0.99, r<0.01 | p=0.90, r= −0.02 |
| Vessel number per 0.1 mm2 | 20 (13–30) | p=0.33, r= −0.17 | p=0.90, r=0.02 | p=0.74, r=0.06 |
| Mucus gland area % | 8 (3–20.3) | p=0.94, r= −0.01 | p=0.77, r= −0.06 | p=0.16, r= −0.26 |
| Epithelial integrity % | 55 (30–80) | p=0.22, r= −0.22 | p=0.56, r= −0.11 | p=0.61, r= −0.09 |
Data are presented as median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. SM: submucosal; ASM: airway smooth muscle; RBM: reticular basement membrane.