Table 2.
Univariate analysis. Early vs. late intubation
| Variables | Early intubation (n = 928) | Late intubation (n = 441) | P values |
|---|---|---|---|
| General characteristics | |||
| Male, n (%) | 670 (73) | 317 (72) | 0.9 |
| Age (years), median (p25–75) | 64 (56‒71) | 62 (50‒73) | 0.01 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Hypertension, n (%) | 466 (50) | 175 (40) | <0.001 |
| Obesity (> 30 kg/m2), n (%) | 354 (38) | 150 (34) | 0.1 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 262 (28) | 85 (19) | <0.001 |
| Chronic lung disease, n (%) | 69 (7) | 24 (5) | 0.2 |
| Asthma, n (%) | 60 (6) | 26 (6) | 0.7 |
| Immunosuppression, n (%) | 60 (6) | 28 (6) | 0.9 |
| Chronic kidney disease, n (%) | 58 (6) | 24 (5) | 0.5 |
| Chronic heart failure, n (%) | 32 (3) | 18 (4) | 0.5 |
| Ischemic heart disease, n (%) | 64 (7) | 27 (6) | 0.6 |
| Severity of illness | |||
| SOFA, median (p25–75) | 4 (3‒7) | 3 (2‒6) | <0.001 |
| APACHE II, median (p25–75)a | 14 (10‒17) | 13 (10‒16) | 0.001 |
| PaO2/Fio2 ratio at admission, median (p25–75) | 100 (75‒148) | 116 (90‒152) | <0.001 |
| Shock at admission, n (%) | 281 (30) | 36 (8) | <0.001 |
| Laboratory variables | |||
| Procalcitonin (ng/ml), median (p25–75) | 0.3 (0.1‒0.9) | 0.3 (0.1‒0.8) | 0.06 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/dL), median (p25–75) | 15 (9‒23) | 14 (7‒22) | 0.6 |
| White blood cells count (109/ml), median (p25–75) | 8.6 (6.3‒12) | 8.2 (5.8‒11.5) | 0.04 |
| LDH (U/L), median (p25–75) | 512 (405‒629) | 484 (384‒583) | 0,002 |
| D-dimer (ng/ml), median (p25–75) | 1128 (600‒2496) | 991 (595‒2437) | 0.1 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL), median (p25–75) | 0.8 (0.7‒1.1) | 0.8 (0.7‒1.05) | 0.1 |
| Urea (mg/dL), median (p25–75) | 45 (32‒60) | 44 (33‒57) | 0.5 |
| Lactate (mmol/L), median (p25–75) | 1.5 (1.1‒2.1) | 1.6 (1.1‒2.3) | 0.2 |
| Outcomes | |||
| Days for IVM, median (p25–75)b | 19 (12‒34) | 20 (12‒34) | 0.99 |
| ICU mortality, n (%) | 293 (32) | 163 (37) | 0.05 |
| ICU LOS, median (p25–75)b | 20 (12‒35) | 19 (12‒34) | 0.2 |
| Hospital mortality, n (%) | 309 (33) | 176 (40) | 0.03 |
| Hospital LOS, median (p25–75)b | 35 (23‒53) | 37 (24‒54) | 0.7 |
SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, APACHE Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation, LDH Lactate dehydrogenase, IMV Invasive mechanical ventilation, ICU Intensive care unit, PaO2/FiO2 Arterial oxygen pressure/ inspired oxygen fraction
aMeasured after 24 h of admission
bCalculated on survivors