Table I.

Patient’s characteristics.

	Study group (N.=38)	Placebo group (N.=33)	P value
Gender (M/F)^a	8/30	8/25	0.748
Age (years)^c	59.7±16.6	61.4±16.9	0.453
BMI (kg/m²)^b	23.3±4.1	22.8±4.3	0.641
APACHE II^b	17.4±7.9	18.0±6.3	0.725
TISS^b	27.9±8.6	26.3±7.5	0.427
GCS^c	9.3±3.8	8.9±3.8	0.580
Duration of intubation (h)^b	114.9±55.3	124.7±72.0	0.534
Endotracheal tube size ^a			0.875
Endo size 6.5/7.0 (mm)	12	11
Endo size 7.5/8.0 (mm)	26	22
Patient’s Source^a			0.349
Medical ICU	17	11
Surgical ICU	21	22

Data shown as Mean±SD, BMI=Body Mass Index, APACHE II=Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, TISS=Thearapeutic Intervention Score System, GCS=Glasgow Coma Scale.

Chi-Square;

Unpaired t-test,

Mann-Whitney test.