Table.
Characteristics of participants at enrollment
| Characteristics | Lactoferrin (n=9) | Control (n=13) | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean or no. | Range or % | Mean or no. | Range or % | ||
| Age (years) | 62.1 | 23.2-83.9 | 62.4 | 34.8-91.1 | 0.92 |
| Male (no., %) | 5 | 55.6 | 3 | 23.1 | 0.38 |
| Black (no., %) | 2 | 22.2 | 5 | 38.5 | 0.65 |
| Anaemia (no.,%)* | 5 | 55.6 | 4 | 30.8 | 0.24 |
| Time (years) on unit | 0.5 | 0.01-1.9 | 1.6 | 0.01-6.9 | 0.35 |
| Time (years) on tube-feeding | 0.85 | 0.14-5.17 | 0.64 | 0.04-2.54 | 0.57 |
| Time (days) since last antibiotic | 29 | 18-48 | 48 | 20-99 | 0.07 |
| Phase 1 of study (no., %) | 1 | 11.1 | 7 | 53.9 | 0.07 |
| Time (days) in study | 50.4 | 19-61 | 45.6 | 25-60 | 0.25 |
| C. difficile antigen+ (no., %) | 2 | 22.2 | 2 | 15.4 | 1.00 |
The differences between lactoferrin and control groups were tested using Fisher's exact test for proportions and Wilcoxon signed-rank test for continuous parameters.
* Anaemia was defined as use of ferrous sulphate