Results
The mean age of the patients was 51.4 ± 18.2 years. Forty-two (70%) of
the patients were men and 18 (30%) were women. The mean ages of the
male and female patients were 55.1 ± 12.5 years and 50.1 ± 10.4 years,
respectively (p=0.04). The mean height and weight of the patients were
168.8 ± 9.1 cm and 82.3 ± 11.4 kg, respectively. Three of the patients
had previously known coronary artery disease, 5 had diabetes mellitus,
and 1 had asthma.
The patients’ laboratory values and pulmonary function test results at
admission and on day 7 of treatment are shown in Table 1. White blood
cell count, CRP, and fibrinogen values on day 7 of treatment were
significantly lower compared to admitting values (p=0.002, 0.001, 0.001,
respectively). FEV1 and FVC values on day 7 were
significantly higher than those at admission (p=0.001 for both) (Figure
1). Statistical analysis of the patients’ pulmonary function values
based on the lower limits of normal (LLN) demonstrated that
FEV1 and FVC were significantly reduced at the start of
treatment (p=0.05 for both) and higher but not significantly on day 7 of
treatment (Figure 1).
Correlation analysis between the changes in respiratory function values
and changes in laboratory parameters during follow-up (day 1 to day 7 of
treatment) revealed that CRP level was positively correlated with
FEV1 (r=0.616, p=0.01) and FVC values (r=0.51, p=0.01)
(Figure 2). Fibrinogen level was also positively correlated with
FEV1 (r=0.345, p=0.01) and FVC (r=0.357, p=0.01) (Figure
3). Among the laboratory parameters, CRP was found to be correlated with
fibrinogen (r=0.609, p=0.01) and ferritin (r=0.308, p=0.017).