Levels of FENO at baseline and after mannitol dry powder challenge.

<p>Abbreviations: SPT, skin prick test; BHR, bronchial hyperresponsiveness; MDP, mannitol dry powder; FENO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; IQR, interquartile range.</p>*<p>BHR reported as MDP challenge results (provocative dose (in mg) inducing a 15% drop of FEV₁ (PD₁₅)). BHR severity is directly correlated with No of MDP manoeuvres.</p>†<p>Non-parametric test, matched group = Wilcoxon signed rank test comparing medians of FENO at baseline and after MDP challenge.</p

% difference of FENO after MDP challenge by baseline FENO, asthma, atopy and BHR severity.

<p>Abbreviations: FENO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; MDP, mannitol dry powder; BHR, bronchial hyperresponsiveness; SPT, skin prick test. Baseline FENO defined as tertiles (low levels: <13 ppb; medium levels: 13 ppb–30 ppb; high levels: >30 ppb). Atopy defined as none (negative SPT), mild (1 to 2 positive SPT), moderate (≥3 positive SPT). BHR reported as MDP challenge results (provocative dose (in mg) inducing a 15% drop of FEV₁ (PD₁₅)) and defined as normal (>635 mg, 11 manoeuvres), mild (155–635 mg, 8–10 manoeuvres), moderate to severe (<155 mg, ≤7 manoeuvres).</p

Duration of antibiotic treatment.

<p>Box plots of the distribution of the duration of antibiotic (AB) treatment (in days) for children and adolescents with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in the procalcitonin (PCT) and control group.</p

Impairment of daily activities.

<p>Impairment of daily activities attributable to lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) over time in 267 children and adolescents who returned diaries in the procalcitonin (PCT) and control group. The smooth curves are local averages calculated using the default loess smoother in R.</p

Trial profile.

<p>Trial profile.</p

Patient baseline characteristics.

<p>Abbreviations: PCT, procalcitonin; IQR, interquartile range; CRP, C-reactive protein; Non-CAP, non-community-acquired pneumonia; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection. * N in this column indicate the number of individuals with information on a particular variable.</p

Subgroup analyses.

<p>Abbreviations: PCT, procalcitonin; CI, confidence interval; Non-CAP, non-community-acquired pneumonia; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection. * Number of individuals with available data for a given endpoint.</p