Table 2. Patient characteristics in each cycle.
| Characteristic | Cycle 1 (n = 284) | Cycle 2 (n = 571) | Cycle 3 (n = 557) | Cycle 4 (n = 575) | |
| Age (yrs); Median (IQR) | 60.5 (14.0–72.0) | 60.5 (39.9–71.9) | 55.5 (39.6–71.7) | 58.5 (40.9–70.0) d * | |
| Male, n (%) | 160 (56.3) a * | 368 (64.4) | 336 (60.3) | 348 (60.5) | |
| ICU LOS (days); Median (IQR) | 3.0 (751.0–7.3) | 2.6 (1.0–6.8) | 2.9 (1.8–7.5) | 2.8 (1.4–6.8) | |
| Hospital LOS (days); Median (IQR) | 17.0 (7.0–37.9) | 16.5 (6.9–35.7) | 16.8 (7.3–34.8) | 17.7 (6.0–37.2) | |
| Age >65 years, n (%) | 112 (39.4) | 229 (40.1) | 193 (34.6) | 195 (33.9) | |
| APACHE II; Median (IQR) | 20.0 (1.5–26.0) | 18.0 (13.0–26.0) | 19.0 (13.0–25.5) | 18.0 (13.0–24.0) | |
| Admission from community <48 h, n (%) | 145 (51.1) a *** | 372 (65.1) | 377 (67.7) | 384 (66.8) d *** | |
| Admission category: | Trauma/surgical, n (%) | 159 (56.0) | 328 (57.4) | 322 (57.8) | 313 (54.4) |
| Medical, n (%) | 125 (44.0) | 243 (42.6) | 235 (42.2) | 262 (45.6) | |
| ICU Readmission, n (%) | 14 (4.9) | 30 (5.3) | 23 (4.1) | 25 (4.3) | |
| Multiple ICU Readmissions, n (%) | 6 (2.1) | 15 (2.6) b ** | 3 (0.5) | 5 (0.9) | |
| Operative Intervention, n (%) | 76 (26.8) a *** | 257 (45.0) | 246 (44.2) | 275 (47.8) d *** | |
| Intercranial drain or monitor, n (%) | 19 (6.7) | 36 (6.3) | 31 (5.6) | 44 (7.7) | |
| Intercostal Drain, n (%) | 15 (5.3) | 37 (6.5) | 38 (6.8) | 30 (5.2) | |
| Nasogastric catheter, n (%) | 196 (69.0) | 4.9 (71.6) | 426 (76.5) c *** | 490 (85.2) d *** | |
| Endotracheal Tube or Tracheostomy, n (%) | 205 (72.2) | 391 (68.5) | 401 (72.0) c *** | 474 (82.4) d *** | |
| Urinary catheter, n (%) | 221 (77.8) a * | 480 (84.1) | 486 (87.3) c *** | 545 (94.8) d *** | |
| Arterial catheter, n (%) | 215 (75.7) a ** | 479 (83.9) | 471 (84.6) c * | 521 (90.6) d *** | |
| Central venous catheter, n (%) | 217 (76.4) a ** | 383 (67.1) | 394 (70.7) | 436 (75.8) | |
| Other vascular (dialytic) catheter, n (%) | 14 (4.9) | 40 (7.0) | 44 (7.9) | 44 (7.7) | |
| Dialysis, n (%) | 13 (4.6) | 25 (4.4) | 38 (6.8) | 32 (5.6) | |
| ICU Mortality, n (%) | 47 (16.5) | 66 (11.6) | 56 (10.1) | 80 (13.9) | |
| Hospital Mortality, n (%) | 63 (22.2) a *** | 72 (12.6) | 67 (12.0) c * | 99 (17.2) | |
a
Significant difference between cycle 1 (Unit 1 only) and 2;
b
between cycle 2 and 3;
c
between cycle 3 and 4;
d
between cycle 1 and 4;
*
p<0.05;
**
p<0.01;
***
p<0.001.