Table 1 Clinical characteristics of patients
Variables | Lymphocyte differential count in BALF | ||
|---|---|---|---|
>15% (n = 24) | ≤15% (n = 13) | p value | |
Sex (male/female) | 21/3 | 10/3 | 0.64 |
Age, years | 73 (68–79) | 77 (75–78) | 0.09 |
Smoking habit (current/former/never/unknown) | 4/15/5/0 | 0/8/4/1 | |
RR, /min. | 25 ± 8 | 23 ± 7 | 0.60 |
CRP, mg/dl | 7.1 ± 5.5 | 8.0 ± 5.2 | 0.61 |
Alb, g/dl | 3.2 ± 0.5 | 3.0 ± 0.4 | 0.10 |
LDH, IU/l | 323 ± 93 | 270 ± 63 | 0.08 |
Cr, mg/dl | 1.09 ± 1.48 | 0.80 ± 0.22 | 0.48 |
KL-6, U/ml | 1543 ± 922 | 1163 ± 874 | 0.23 |
SP-D, ng/ml | 387 ± 363 | 215 ± 140 | 0.11 |
SP-A, ng/ml | 96.4 ± 45.6 | 84.5 ± 39.0 | 0.52 |
pH | 7.44 ± 0.03 | 7.43 ± 0.07 | 0.63 |
P/F ratio | 261 ± 73 | 210 ± 89 | 0.10 |
Lac, mmol/l | 8.7 ± 23.2 | 4.3 ± 6.9 | 0.69 |
CT pattern (UIP/not UIP) | 11/13 | 7/6 | 0.74 |
possible UIP pattern | 7 | 1 | |
Inconsistent with UIP pattern | |||
Peribronchovascular predominance | 5 | 5 | |
Upper predominance | 1 | 0 | |
FVC, % predicted | 80.1 ± 15.4 | 72.0 ± 19.8 | 0.09 |
FEV1, % predicted | 81.7 ± 17.4 | 82.1 ± 18.5 | 0.88 |
DLco, % predicted | 53.9 ± 23.6 | 54.5 ± 23.8 | 0.95 |
Bronchoalveolar lavage | |||
total volume of retrieved BALF, % | 39.3 (33.8–53.7) | 43.7 (32.5–52.7) | 0.95 |
Total cell count, /ml | 5.0 × 105 (4.0 × 105–5.3 × 105) | 3.0 × 105 (2.0 × 105–4.0 × 105) | 0.03 |
Neutrophil, % | 15.0 (6.0–22.3) | 41.0 (21.0–75.0) | <0.01 |
Lymphocyte, % | 42.7 (33.0–57.5) | 7.4 (3.6–9.0) | <0.01 |
Eosinophil, % | 4.5 (2.8–7.4) | 2.0 (1.0–4.4) | 0.06 |
Macrophages, % | 29.0 (8.3–34.9) | 27.0 (10.0–59.0) | 0.50 |
Days from admission until BAL, day | 1 (1–2) | 2 (1–4) | 0.15 |