Table 1.
Patient characteristics.
| Demographics | Control, n = 20 | Intervention, n = 55 | All subjects, n = 75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 66 (11.03) | 65 (13.27) | 666 (12.68) |
| Gender*: Male | 40% | 53% | 51% |
| Race | |||
| White | 60% | 58% | 60% |
| African American | 40% | 40% (2% Hispanic) | 39% |
| Body mass index; mean kg/m2 (SD) | 315 (7.99) | 31.0 (6.93) | 31 (7.21) |
| Admitting unit | |||
| MICU | 35% | 55% | 49% |
| SICU | 65% | 45% | 51% |
| Admitting diagnosis (category) | |||
| Respiratory failure/acute lung injury | 20% | 34% | 31% |
| Cardiovascular surgery | 40% | 11% | 21% |
| Cardiovascular medicine (endocarditis) | 0% | 5% | 2% |
| Gastrointestinal medicine or surgery (e.g., upper GI bleed, pancreatitis; perforated bowel repair, small bowel obstruction repair) | 25% | 22% | 21% |
| Cancer (i.e., thyroid, adrenal, breast and colon) | 5% | 13% | 12% |
| Sepsis | 5% | 9% | 3% |
| Other: acute renal failure and esophagotracheal fistula) | 5% | 2% | 3% |
| Number of comorbid conditions by mean number of categories (SD)/Charlson Score (SD) | 2 (1.46)/1.2 (.93) | 3 (1.67)/2.4 (1.99) | 3 (1.64)/2.1 (1.84) |
| APACHE* 3 score on admission, mean (SD) | 58 (18.49) | 75 (21.96) | 70 (22.31) |
| P/F ratio on admission, mean (SD) | 226 (81.9) | 222 (119.8) | 223 (110.5) |
| Receiving continuous sedation on enrolment | 15% | 9% | 11% |
Abbreviations: SD = standard deviation; P/F ratio = the partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2)/the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2); APACHE 3 = acute physiology and chronic health evaluation, version 3; MICU = medical intensive care unit; SICU = surgical intensive care unit.
*
Significant differences between groups, p < .05.