Table 3 Demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiological features according to blood eosinophil counts
|  | Eosinophil<150 cell/ul | Eosinophil ≥ 150 cell/ul | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
No. patients (total n = 125) | n = 63, 50.4% | n = 62, 49.6% |  |
Male/Female | 1:1.25 (28:35) | 1.30:1 (35:27) | 0.179 |
Age (mean ± SD, years) | 62.44 ± 14.269 | 62.29 ± 14.06 | 0.952 |
BMI (mean ± SD, kg/m2) | 22.62 ± 3.286 | 22.98 ± 3.00 | 0.530 |
Ever-smoker (n, %) | 15/62, 24.2% | 21/62, 33.9% | 0.301 |
 Smoking Index (median, IQR) | 600 (240, 800) | 500 (300, 760) | 0.359 |
Respiratory symptoms (n, %) | Â | Â | Â |
 Cough | 61/63, 96.8% | 59/62, 95.2% | 0.635 |
 Sputum | 62/63, 98.4% | 56/62, 90.3% | 0.049 |
 Hemoptysis | 23/63, 36.5% | 19/62, 30.6% | 0.488 |
 Dyspnea | 23/63, 36.5% | 32/62, 51.6% | 0.089 |
Annual exacerbations (median, IQR) | 1.0 (1.0, 2.0) | 1.0 (1.0, 2.0) | 0.108 |
Blood test | Â | Â | Â |
 WBC (109/l, median, IQR) | 6.40 (4.94, 7.89) | 6.47 (5.33, 7.84) | 0.799 |
 HB (g/l, median, IQR) | 132.0 ± 16.12 | 132.7 ± 19.98 | 0.831 |
 Neutrophil (109/l, median, IQR) | 4.01 (3.01, 5.06) | 4.02 (2.98, 5.00) | 0.855 |
 Total IgE (KU/L, median, IQR) | 40.7 (16.5, 106.0) | 57.9 (22.6, 153.0) | 0.325 |
 Total IgE > 60KU/L (n, %) | 24/63, 38.1% | 30/62, 48.4% | 0.245 |
 Positive specific IgE to Aspergillus fumigatus (n, %) | 2/62, 3.2% | 1/62, 1.6% | 0.568 |
Sputum culture | Â | Â | Â |
 Negative | 35/47, 74.5% | 32/42, 76.2% | 0.760 |
 Isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 9/47, 19.1% | 6/42, 14.3% |  |
 Isolation of other bacteria§ | 3/47, 6.4% | 4/42, 9.5% |  |
Chest HRCT | Â | Â | Â |
 Number of lobes involved (n, %) | 3 (2, 4) | 4 (3, 5) | 0.015 |
 ≥ 3 lobes involved (n, %) | 39/63, 61.9% | 48/62, 77.4% | 0.059 |
 Bilateral involvement (n, %) | 39/63, 61.9% | 47/62, 75.8% | 0.093 |
 Lobes involved (n, %) |  |  |  |
  Upper lobes | 35/63, 55.6% | 41/62, 66.1% | 0.226 |
  Middle/ lingula lobe | 48/63, 76.2% | 55/62, 88.7% | 0.066 |
  Lower lobes | 58/63, 92.1% | 59/62, 95.2% | 0.479 |
Smith score (median, IQR) | 6 (3, 9) | 9 (5, 12) | 0.009 |
Bhalla score (median, IQR) | 5 (3, 9) | 7 (5, 11) | 0.036 |
Bronchiectasis type (n, %) | Â | Â | Â |
  Cylindrical | 22/63, 34.9% | 16/62, 25.8% | 0.268 |
  Cystic and/or mixed | 41/63, 65.1% | 46/62, 74.2% | |
Mucus plugs | 13/63, 20.6% | 8/62, 12.9% | 0.248 |
Lung function | Â | Â | Â |
 FEV1% predicted (%, median, IQR) | 73.0 (48.0, 85.1) | 74.6 (50.6, 87.0) | 0.608 |
 FEV1/FVC (%, median, IQR) | 71.0 (55.2, 78.5) | 71.3 (59.0, 77.2) | 0.801 |
 RV/TLC (mean ± SD, years) | 50.0 ± 13.87 | 50.6 ± 11.99 | 0.807 |
BSI score (median, IQR) | 9.0 (7.0, 13.0) | 9.0 (6.8, 12.3) | 0.931 |
 0–4 | 9/47, 19.1% | 7/42, 16.7% | 0.848 |
 5–8 | 14/47, 29.8% | 11/42, 26.2% |  |
 ≥9 | 24/47, 51.1% | 24/42, 57.1% |  |
E-FACED score (median, IQR) | 2.0 (1.0, 4.0) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0) | 0.491 |
 0–3 | 29/47, 61.7% | 24/42, 57.1% | 0.809 |
 4–6 | 15/47, 31.9% | 16/42, 38.1% |  |
 7–9 | 3/47, 6.4% | 2/42, 4.8% |  |