Table 6. Characteristics of patients with and without corticosteroids.
| Variables | No corticosteroids (n = 506) | Corticosteroids use (n = 239) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (male, %) | 251 (49.6) | 114 (47.7) | 0.684 |
| Location (N, %) | <0.001 | ||
| Burn | 8 (1.6) | 1 (0.4) | |
| Cardiac SICU | 4 (0.8) | 1 (0.4) | |
| CCU | 4 (0.8) | 3 (1.3) | |
| MICU | 292 (57.7) | 176 (73.6) | |
| MICU/SICU | 137 (27.1) | 42 (17.6) | |
| Neuro ICU | 13 (2.6) | 4 (1.7) | |
| Others | 3 (0.6) | 5 (2.1) | |
| SICU | 29 (5.7) | 4 (1.7) | |
| Trauma | 26 (3.2) | 3 (1.3) | |
| Ethnic (N, %) | 1 | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | 58 (11.5) | 28 (11.7) | |
| Others | 448 (88.5) | 211 (88.3) | |
| Infection sites (N, %) | 0.713 | ||
| Abdomen | 49 (9.7) | 16 (6.7) | |
| Bacterial meningitis | 2 (0.4) | 2 (0.8) | |
| Central line | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.4) | |
| Confirmed Swine Influenza A | 1 (0.2) | 0 | |
| Osteomyelitis | 2 (0.4) | 2 (0.8) | |
| Others | 41 (8.1) | 13 (5.4) | |
| Skin or soft tissue | 18 (3.6) | 11 (4.6) | |
| Suspected infection | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.4) | |
| Thorax | 356 (70.4) | 177 (74.1) | |
| Urinary tract | 35 (6.9) | 16 (6.7) | |
| Vasopressor (N, %) | 259 (51.2) | 149 (62.3) | 0.005 |
| APACHE III (median, IQR) | 89 (70–109) | 96.5 (79–117.2) | <0.001 |
| CVP (mmHg) | 11 (8–14) | 11 (9–15) | 0.176 |
| The number of quadrants with infiltrates (median, range) | 4 (0–4) | 4 (2–4) | 0.037§ |
| CK (mmol/l) | 91 (40–233) | 75 (31–195) | 0.336 |
| ALT (mmol/l) | 26 (16–41) | 27 (17–44) | 0.298 |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 22.7 (13.5–31.35) | 21.2 (10.98–30.60) | 0.003 |
| Urine output (24 hours) | 1400 (785–2218) | 1170 (645.2–1968) | 0.063 |
| PaO2 (mmHg) | 84 (70–104.5) | 83 (68–105) | 0.700 |
| Mortality (N,%) | 127 (25.1) | 78 (32.6) | 0.039 |
| Age (years) | 55 (42–66) | 56 (43–65) | 0.866 |
Abbreviations: IQR: interquartile range; APACHE: acute physiology and chronic health evaluation; CVP: central venous pressure; CK: creatine kinase; CRP: C-reactive protein; PaO2: partial pressure of arterial oxygen.
§ statistical test was performed by using Cochran-Armitage trend test.