Table 1.
Characteristics of the study groups
| Variable | With ICU N = 206 | Without ICU N = 95 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 67 ± 17 | 66 ± 18 | 0.740 |
| Age > 60 years | 143 (69.4) | 59 (62) | 0.209 |
| Male | 118 (57.3) | 56 (58.9) | 0.78 |
| Charlson score | 2.22 ± 2.28 | 2.15 ± 1.17 | 0.568 |
| Charlson score > 3 | 41 (19.9) | 16 (16.8) | 0.529 |
| Length of hospital stay | 8.27 ± 9.74 | 7.07 ± 8.04 | 0.689 |
| Length of stay (days)† | 5 (3 - 10) | 5 (3 - 9.25) | 0.686 |
| Cancer | 16 (7.8) | 5 (5.3) | 0.428 |
| Dialysis | 1 (0.5) | 0 | 0.173 |
| Length of hospital stay > 10 days | 47 (22.8) | 20 (21.1) | 0.733 |
| Hospital transfer | 3 (1.5) | 3 (3.2) | 0.326 |
| Multidrug-resistant pathogens | 26 (12.6) | 7 (7.4) | 0.241 |
| Use of antibiotics | 193 (93.7) | 89 (93.7) | 0.999 |
| Origin | |||
| From our hospital‡ | 179 (86.9) | 15 (75) | 0.145 |
| From other hospitals‡ | 9 (4.4) | 1 (5) | 0.890 |
| Residence in Montenegro | 142 (68.9) | 70 (73.3) | 0.401 |
ICU - intensive care unit. Mann-Whitney U test; Pearson chi-square test or Fisher's exact test;
†
median and interquartile range;
‡
total sample size = 226. Results are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation and relative number (percentage).