Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients stratified by exacerbation risk.

From: Association between exacerbation history and airway bacterial community assessed by extended bacterial culture and sequencing approaches in stable COPD

 

Total

Low risk of exacerbation (LR)

High risk of exacerbation (HR)

p-value

Number

62

28

34

 

Age, years

61.5 ± 9.4

64.2 ± 9.2

59.4 ± 9.0

0.021

Male

36 (58.1%)

22 (78.6%)

14 (41.2%)

0.003

BMI, kg/m²

25.7 ± 5.6

26.3 ± 5.1

25.3 ± 6.0

0.235

Sputum samples

    

Spontaneous

57

26 (92.9%)

31 (91.2%)

> 0.999

Induced

5

2 (7.1%)

3 (8.8%)

|

Smoking history

Current smoker

21 (33.9%)

8 (28.6%)

13 (38.2%)

0.299

|

Former smoker

41 (66.1%)

20 (71.4%)

21 (61.8%)

Pack-years

43.6 ± 19.2

45.5 ± 21.2

42.1 ± 17.6

0.246

Maintenance treatment

Long-acting beta agonist

38 (61.3%)

16 (57.1)

22 (64.7%)

0.614

Long-acting muscarinic antagonist

11 (17.7%)

3 (10.7%)

8 (23.5%)

0.102

Inhaled corticosteroid

21 (33.9%)

8 (28.6%)

13 (38.2%)

0.426

Oral corticosteroid

2 (3.2%)

1 (3.6%)

1 (2.9%)

0.643

Long-term macrolides

5 (8.1%)

2 (7.1%)

3 (8.8%)

0.714

Recent antibiotic and corticosteroid use

Antibiotics (last 6 months)

35 (56.5%)

6 (21.4%)

29 (85.3%)

< 0.001

Antibiotics (last month)a

2 (3.2%)

1 (3.6%)

1 (2.9%)

> 0.999

Oral corticosteroids (last 6 months)

21 (33.9%)

4 (14.3%)

17 (50.0%)

0.003

Exacerbation history

Exacerbation (previous year)

41 (66.1%)

7 (25.0%)

34 (100%)

< 0.001

Nb exacerbations (previous year)

2.5 ± 1.5

1 ± 0

2.8 ± 1.5

0.001

Symptoms

Dyspnea mMRC ≥ 2

47 (75.8%)

22 (78.6%)

25 (73.5%)

0.769

Chronic bronchitis

31 (50.0%)

10 (35.7%)

21 (61.8%)

0.037

CAT score

18.0 ± 7.4

16.2 ± 8.0

19.6 ± 6.6

0.045

Lung function

FEV1, % pred

46.5 ± 18.7

53.1 ± 20.1

41.1 ± 15.8

0.006

FEV1/FVC

47.0 ± 10.9

49.5 ± 10.7

44.9 ± 10.7

0.048

RV, % pred

217.4 ± 88.8

183.5 ± 73.7

244.1 ± 91.5

0.004

TLC, % pred

129.8 ± 26.4

118.5 ± 20.3

138.7 ± 27.6

0.001

DLCO, % pred

46.2 ± 23.5

45.9 ± 22.9

46.4 ± 24.3

0.471

GOLD 1–2

26 (41.9%)

17 (60.7%)

9 (26.5%)

0.010

GOLD 3–4

36 (58.1%)

11 (39.3%)

25 (73.5%)

|

6-minute walking test* (AA),

52

21

31

 

Desaturation, n

24 (46.2%)

9 (42.9%)

15 (48.4%)

0.351

Distance, meters

359 ± 117

388 ± 126

340 ± 108

0.028

CT-scan*,

58

25

33

 

Emphysema, n

52 (89.7%)

21 (75.0%)

31 (93.9%)

0.213

Emphysema score

9.0 ± 4.7

9.2 ± 4.6

8.9 ± 4.9

0.394

  1. Unless otherwise stated (*), data are available for all patients. Characteristics that are statistically significant between LR and HR groups are indicated in bold. Values are presented as n (%), mean ± SD and median [25th-75th percentile]. aAntibiotic treatments for other causes than acute exacerbation. AA: Ambient Air; BMI: Body Mass Index; CAT: COPD Assessment Test; CT-scan: Computed Tomography scan; DLCO: Diffusing capacity of the Lung for Carbon monOxide; FEV1: Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 s; FVC: Forced Vital Capacity; GOLD: Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; mMRC: modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale; n: number; RV: Residual Volume; TLC: Total Lung Capacity.