Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics
| Male sex, no. (%) | 51 (57) |
| Age, mean (± SD) - year | 76 (15) |
| Past medical history, no. (%) | |
| Acute pulmonary edema | 27 (29) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 27 (29) |
| Ischemic heart disease | 21 (23) |
| Home oxygen | 16 (17) |
| Clinical data at admission, median (IQR) | |
| Heart rate - beats/min. | 94 (80–110) |
| Systolic blood pressure - mm Hg | 122 (106–144) |
| Diastolic blood pressure - mm Hg | 69 (60–78) |
| Respiratory rate - breaths/min. | 24 (19–28) |
| Glasgow coma scale | 15 (14–15) |
| Temperature - °C | 37.0 (36.2–37.6) |
| Laboratory values, median (IQR) | |
| PaCO2 - mm Hg | 46.2 (37.6–66.8) |
| PtCO2 - mm Hg | 47.2 (42.1–60.0) |
| PaO2 - mm Hg | 73.5 (63.0–89.0) |
| pH | 7.37 (7.30–7.43) |
| HCO3 - mEq/L | 26.0 (22.8–29.7) |
| Base excess - mmol/L | 1.9 (-1.9–5.8) |
| Lactate - mmol/L | 1.3 (0.7–2.2) |
| Hemoglobin - g/dL | 12.3 (10.9–13.8) |
| White blood cells - G/L | 12.4 (7.9–15.5) |
| C-reactive protein | 41 (8–122) |
| Glycemia - g/L | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) |
| Brain natriuretic peptide - ng/L | 1704 (579–6200) |
| Diagnosis, no. (%) | |
| Heart failure | 25 (27) |
| COPD | 14 (15) |
| Pneumonia | 42 (46) |
| Pulmonary embolism | 5 (5) |
| Outcome, no. (%) | |
| Noninvasive ventilation required | 41 (45) |
| Intubation required | 4 (4) |
| Admitted to hospital | 61 (66) |
| Admitted to ICU | 19 (21) |
| Discharged from ED | 10 (11) |
| Death at the ED | 2 (2) |
| Inpatient mortality | 9 (10) |