Table 1.
Demographic data of patients.
| Dexamethasone group (n = 40) | Placebo group (n = 40) | P value | |
| Age (years)a | 72.4 ± 14.7 | 72.7 ± 13.8 | 0.55 |
| Genderb | 0.66 | ||
| Female | 34 (85) | 32 (88) | |
| Male | 6 (15) | 8 (12) | |
| Body weight (kg)a | 58.6 ± 9.6 | 57.5 ± 10.6 | 0.68 |
| Height (cm)a | 155.8 ± 6.9 | 152.9 ± 7.3 | 0.10 |
| APACHE II scorea | 19.5 ± 2.9 | 21.5 ± 3.7 | 0.08 |
| Albumin (g/dl)a | 2.6 ± 0.6 | 2.5 ± 0.6 | 0.98 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dl)a | 9.7 ± 1.7 | 9.4 ± 1.3 | 0.30 |
| Internal diameter of endotracheal tubeb | 0.14 | ||
| 6.5 or 7 mm | 5 (12) | 4 (10) | |
| 7.5 or 8.0 mm | 35 (88) | 36 (90) | |
| Intubation time (hours)a | 167.3 ± 48.1 | 158.5 ± 49.0 | 0.95 |
| Reason for intubationb | 0.94 | ||
| Pneumonia | 11 (28) | 9 (23) | |
| Sepsis | 4 (10) | 5 (13) | |
| Heart failure | 4 (10) | 5 (13) | |
| Acute respiratory distress syndrome | 2 (5) | 3 (8) | |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 5 (13) | 4 (10) | |
| Asthma | 0 | 1 (3) | |
| Other | 14 (35) | 13 (33) | |
| Glasgow Coma Scale score | 0.65 | ||
| 3–8 | 11 | 10 | |
| 9–12 | 14 | 11 | |
| 13–15 | 15 | 19 |
aData are presented as mean ± standard deviation; bdata are presented as number of patients (percentage of patients). APACHE II, Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation II.