Table 1. Baseline Characteristics.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | Absolute SMDa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methimazole (n = 727) | Propylthiouracil (n = 656) | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 45 (16) | 45 (16) | 0.056 |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 520 (71.5) | 473 (72.1) | 0.013 |
| Male | 207 (28.5) | 183 (27.9) | |
| Race | |||
| African American or Black | 250 (34.4) | 190 (29.0) | 0.164 |
| Asian | 24 (3.3) | 16 (2.4) | |
| White | 377 (51.9) | 354 (54.0) | |
| Otherb | 59 (8.1) | 76 (11.6) | |
| Unknown | 17 (2.3) | 20 (3.0) | |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Hispanic or Latinx | 74 (10.2) | 82 (12.5) | 0.075 |
| Not Hispanic or Latinx | 506 (69.6) | 449 (68.4) | |
| Unknown | 147 (20.2) | 125 (19.1) | |
| Thyroid storm as primary diagnosis | 476 (65.5) | 440 (67.1) | 0.034 |
| Elixhauser comorbidity score, mean (SD) | 4 (2) | 4 (2) | 0.01 |
| History of CHF | 276 (38.0) | 235 (35.8) | 0.044 |
| History of arrhythmia | 415 (57.1) | 378 (57.6) | 0.011 |
| History of liver disease | 50 (6.9) | 70 (10.7) | 0.134 |
| Oral medication delivery other than thionamide on study day 0 | 680 (93.5) | 600 (91.5) | 0.079 |
| Potassium iodide or Lugol iodine solution administration on or before study day 0 | 189 (26.0) | 271 (41.3) | 0.328 |
| CT with contrast on or before study day 0 | 134 (18.4) | 121 (18.4) | <0.001 |
| Any β-blocker use on study day 0 | 641 (88.2) | 558 (85.1) | 0.091 |
| Propranolol | 448 (61.6) | 392 (59.8) | 0.038 |
| Atenolol | 21 (2.9) | 9 (1.4) | 0.105 |
| Metoprolol | 251 (34.5) | 175 (26.7) | 0.171 |
| Esmolol | 124 (17.1) | 151 (23.0) | 0.149 |
| Any vasopressor use on study day 0 | 72 (9.9) | 99 (15.1) | 0.157 |
| Norepinephrine | 54 (7.4) | 68 (10.4) | 0.103 |
| Epinephrine | 22 (3.0) | 35 (5.3) | 0.116 |
| Vasopressin | 21 (2.9) | 37 (5.6) | 0.137 |
| Phenylephrine | 35 (4.8) | 42 (6.4) | 0.069 |
| Dopamine | 8 (1.1) | 18 (2.7) | 0.120 |
| Hydrocortisone use on study day 0 | 567 (78.0) | 564 (86.0) | 0.209 |
| Dexamethasone use on study day 0 | 90 (12.4) | 80 (12.2) | 0.006 |
| Methylprednisolone use on study day 0 | 115 (15.8) | 54 (8.2) | 0.235 |
| IMV use on study day 0 | 102 (14.0) | 124 (18.9) | 0.132 |
| Acute respiratory organ dysfunction present on admission | 83 (11.4) | 99 (15.1) | 0.109 |
| Acute cardiovascular organ dysfunction present on admission | 81 (11.1) | 95 (14.5) | 0.100 |
| Acute neurologic organ dysfunction present on admission | 107 (14.7) | 118 (18.0) | 0.088 |
| Acute hepatic organ dysfunction present on admission | 27 (3.7) | 37 (5.6) | 0.091 |
| Acute kidney dysfunction present on admission | 65 (8.9) | 66 (10.1) | 0.038 |
| Admission to the ICU (vs step-down unit) | 436 (60.0) | 480 (73.2) | 0.283 |
| Teaching hospital | 362 (49.8) | 347 (52.9) | 0.062 |
| Hospital bed size | |||
| ≤99 | 34 (4.7) | 21 (3.2) | 0.179 |
| 100-199 | 89 (12.2) | 93 (14.2) | |
| 200-299 | 113 (15.5) | 103 (15.7) | |
| 300-399 | 125 (17.2) | 91 (13.9) | |
| 400-499 | 65 (8.9) | 86 (13.1) | |
| ≥500 | 301 (41.4) | 262 (39.9) | |
| US Census region | |||
| Midwest | 115 (15.8) | 131 (20.0) | 0.139 |
| Northeast | 87 (12.0) | 78 (11.9) | |
| South | 391 (53.8) | 352 (53.7) | |
| West | 134 (18.4) | 95 (14.5) | |
Abbreviations: CHF, congestive heart failure; CT, computed tomography; ICU, intensive care unit; IMV, invasive mechanical ventilation; SMD, standardized mean difference.
a
SMDs less than 0.5 are considered small.19
b
Provided directly by the Premier Healthcare Database, which did not specify which races were included in that category.