Baseline characteristics and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellular analysis of the study population#
| Hypersensitivity pneumonitis | IPF | Other | p-value | |
| Subjects | 35 | 19 | 41 | |
| Age years | 69.7±9.3 | 70.89±7.47 | 68.76±810.29 | 0.710 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 25 (71.4) | 16 (84.2) | 26 (63.4) | 0.796 |
| Female | 10 (28.6) | 3 (15.8) | 15 (36.6) | 0.457 |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Ex-smokers | 22 (62.9) | 16 (84.2) | 28 (68.3) | 0.793 |
| Never-smokers | 13 (37.1) | 3 (15.8) | 13 (31.7) | 0.461 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| GORD | 11 (31.4) | 3 (15.8) | 17 (41.5) | 0.345 |
| Pulmonary hypertension | 7 (20.0) | 3 (15.8) | 7 (17.1) | 0.934 |
| Arterial hypertension | 14 (40.0) | 6 (31.6) | 18 (43.9) | 0.833 |
| Diabetes | 4 (11.4) | 3 (15.8) | 6 (14.6) | 0.908 |
| Surgical lung biopsy | 8 (22.9) | 5 (26.3) | 5 (12.2) | 0.463 |
| FVC % pred | 78.06±18.85 | 74.35±20.85 | 72.81±17.54 | 0.525 |
| DLCO % pred | 55.87±21.64 | 48.06±17.62 | 55±20.03 | 0.411 |
| Supplementary oxygen | 5 (14.3) | 3 (15.8) | 6 (14.6) | 0.992 |
| Macrophages % | 61.66±15.84 | 70.68±13.78 | 68.05±14.64 | 0.067 |
| Lymphocytes % | 24.06±15.4*** | 11.42±6.17*** | 13.9±11.32*** | <0.001*** |
| Eosinophils % | 3.69±3.23 | 5.37±5.82 | 5.01±5.14 | 0.341 |
| Neutrophils % | 10.24±11.02 | 11.26±8.59 | 11.66±9.84 | 0.825 |
Data are presented as n, mean±sd or n (%), unless otherwise stated. p-values were calculated using one-way ANOVA. IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; GORD: gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; FVC: forced vital capacity; DLCO: diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide. #: diagnoses are after re-evaluation incorporating BAL findings. ***: p<0.001.