Table 3.
Patient demographics and presumed cause of ARF assessed by the EMS
| CPAP (N = 171) | Non-CPAP (N = 739) | ρ-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient demographics | |||
| Male, % | 60 % | 50%a | 0.02 |
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 73 (64–80) | 74 (64–81)b | 0.99 |
| Presumed cause of ARF | |||
| Acute cardiopulmonary oedema | 18.1 % | 13.3 % | 0.10c |
| Asthma, acute exacerbation | 5.3 % | 7.3 % | 0.34c |
| COPD, acute exacerbation | 57.3 % | 45.5 % | 0.01c |
| Combined COPD and acute cardiopulmonary oedema | 2.3 % | 3.4 % | 0.63d |
| Combined COPD and asthma | 1.2 % | 4.2 % | 0.07d |
| Other | 12.9 % | 14.2 % | 0.65c |
| Unknown or not reported | 2.9 % | 12.2 % | <0.01d |
No missing data unless otherwise stated
ARF acute respiratory failure, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CPAP continuous positive airway pressure, EMS emergency medical services, IQR interquartile range
a N = 716
b N = 704
cCalculated by chi-square test
dCalculated by Fisher’s exact test