Table 1. Baseline Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes between Treatment Groups.
| Baseline characteristics or clinical outcomes | No. of cases (%) | p value | No. of PE cases (%) | p value* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-PE group (n=29) | PE group (n=24) | Early PE group (n=16) | Late PE group (n=8) | |||
| Epidemiology | ||||||
| Age (mean±SD, yr) | 67.4±11.6 | 62.5±11.6 | 0.132 | 60.9±12.1 | 65.7±10.6 | 0.152 |
| Female sex | 13 (44.8) | 9 (37.5) | 0.590 | 7 (43.8) | 2 (25.0) | 0.588 |
| Occupational exposure to tick bites | 20 (69.0) | 18 (75.0) | 0.627 | 8 (50.0) | 6 (75.0) | 0.455 |
| Comorbidity | ||||||
| Cardiovascular disorder | 9 (31.0) | 6 (25.0) | 0.627 | 1 (6.3) | 5 (62.5) | 0.014 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 6 (20.7) | 2 (8.3) | 0.269 | 1 (6.3) | 1 (12.5) | 0.422 |
| Presence of one or more comorbidities | 13 (44.8) | 8 (33.3) | 0.394 | 2 (12.5) | 6 (75.0) | 0.009 |
| Clinical features at the time of initial presentation | ||||||
| Chills | 21 (72.4) | 10 (41.7) | 0.024 | 7 (43.8) | 3 (37.5) | 0.074 |
| Fatigue | 17 (58.6) | 5 (20.8) | 0.005 | 3 (18.8) | 2 (25.0) | 0.020 |
| Headache | 9 (31.0) | 5 (20.8) | 0.402 | 4 (25.0) | 1 (12.5) | 0.568 |
| Myalgia | 14 (48.3) | 5 (20.8) | 0.038 | 5 (31.3) | 0 | 0.038 |
| Anorexia, nausea, vomiting | 18 (62.1) | 12 (50.0) | 0.378 | 7 (43.8) | 5 (62.5) | 0.463 |
| Diarrhea | 13 (44.8) | 11 (45.8) | 0.942 | 5 (31.3) | 6 (75.0) | 0.127 |
| Hypotension (SBP <90 mm Hg or MAP <70 mm Hg) | 1 (3.4) | 4 (16.7) | 0.164 | 2 (12.5) | 2 (25.0) | 0.160 |
| Laboratory findings at the time of initial presentation | ||||||
| White blood cell count (mean±SD, cells/μL) | 2028±890 | 1562±671 | 0.039 | 1603±752 | 1478±506 | 0.178 |
| Hemoglobin (mean±SD, mg/dL) | 13.8±1.6 | 14.1±1.6 | 0.478 | 14.3±1.6 | 13.7±1.6 | 0.491 |
| Platelet count (mean±SD, cells/μL) | 65344±31406 | 71541±32722 | 0.486 | 75000±34355 | 64625±30118 | 0.689 |
| PT INR [median (range)] | 1.05 (0.93−1.51) | 1.12 (0.94−1.49) | 0.147 | 1.09 (0.95−1.21) | 1.15 (0.94−1.49) | 0.254 |
| aPTT [median (range), sec] | 43.7 (28.0−75.8) | 46.4 (34.9−65.9) | 0.491 | 44.5 (34.9−53.0) | 49.3 (38.5−65.9) | 0.639 |
| AST level [median (range), U/L] | 148 (32−1531) | 113 (22−612) | 0.313 | 91 (22−612) | 140 (48−524) | 0.388 |
| LDH level [median (range), U/L] | 740 (300−3550) | 828 (302−2589) | 0.802 | 738 (302−1998) | 911 (582−2589) | 0.675 |
| CK level [median (range), U/L] | 765 (85−7440) | 480 (82−6684) | 0.286 | 383 (82−6684) | 564 (94−3277) | 0.564 |
| Blood urea nitrogen [median (range), mg/dL] | 18.7 (3.5−86.0) | 14.3 (5.7−48.0) | 0.118 | 12.8 (5.7−36.3) | 19.2 (8.7−48.0) | 0.069 |
| Serum creatinine [median (range), mg/dL] | 1.0 (0.6−6.8) | 1.1 (0.7−1.4) | 0.308 | 1.1 (0.8−1.4) | 1.1 (0.7−1.2) | 0.547 |
| Severity indices of illness at the time of initial presentation | ||||||
| No. of SIRS criteria† ≥2 | 21 (72.4) | 17 (70.8) | 0.899 | 10 (62.5) | 7 (87.5) | 0.436 |
| APACHE II score (mean±SD) | 10.0±4.2 | 9.9±4.0 | 0.942 | 9.5±3.7 | 10.8±4.7 | 0.889 |
| Clinical outcomes | ||||||
| Length of ICU stay [median (range), days] | 4 (0−15) | 4.5 (2−11) | 0.346 | 5 (2−7) | 3 (2−10) | 0.564 |
| Length of hospital stay [median (range), days] | 7 (0−40) | 8 (4−22) | 0.281 | 9 (4−18) | 7.5 (4−22) | 0.540 |
| In-hospital mortality, n (%) | 10 (34.5) | 7 (29.2) | 0.680 | 1 (6.3) | 6 (75.0) | 0.003 |
PE, plasma exchange; SD, standard deviation; SBP, systolic blood pressure; MAP, mean arterial pressure; PT, prothrombin time; INR, international normalized ratio; aPTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; AST, aspartate transaminase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; CK, creatinine phosphokinase; SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome; APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; ICU, intensive care unit.
*Comparison between non-PE, early PE, and late PE groups, †Including 1) heart rate >90 beats/min, 2) respiratory rate >24 breaths/min, 3) temperature >38℃ or <36℃, or 4) white blood cells >12000/µL, <4000/µL, or band formation >10%.