Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the participants
Baseline assessment | Treatment group (n = 5) | Placebo group (n = 5) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age (years) | 67 ± 4 | 62.6 ± 4.15 | ||||
Male/Female | 5/0 | 4/1 | ||||
Smoking status | ||||||
Current smoker | 3 | 0 | ||||
Former smoker | 1 | 5 | ||||
Never smoked | 1 | 0 | ||||
FEV1 (L) (post bronchodilator) | 1.38 ± 0.63 | 0.83 ± 0.10 | ||||
FVC (L) (post bronchodilator) | 2.79 ± 0.59 | 2.33 ± 0.36 | ||||
FEV1/FVC (post bronchodilator) | 0.48 ± 0.13 | 0.36 ± 0.06 | ||||
COPD severity | ||||||
Moderate | 1 | 0 | ||||
Severe | 4 | 5 | ||||
Symptom severity | Mild | Mod | Sev | Mild | Mod | Sev |
Shortness of breath | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Cough | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Sputum production | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Antibiotics | 0 | 2 | ||||
Long-acting beta-agonists | 3 | 5 | ||||
Inhaled corticosteroids | 3 | 5 | ||||
Chinese medicine diagnosis | ||||||
Lung and kidney qi deficiency | 4 | 3 | ||||
Lung, spleen and kidney qi deficiency | 1 | 2 | ||||