Table 1.
Patients’ main characteristics
| Patient | Sex | Age (years) | BMI | SAPS II score (at ICU admission) | SOFA score (on day of study) | Etiology of acute respiratory failure | Days of intubation before study | ARDS (yes or no) | PaO2/FiO2 (mmHg)a | PEEP (cmH2O)a | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M | 79 | 26 | 33 | 8 | Thoracic trauma | 7 | Yes | 160 | 8 | Nonsurvivor |
| 2 | M | 90 | 29 | 46 | 7 | Sepsis | 1 | Yes | 205 | 10 | Survivor |
| 3 | M | 71 | 29 | 30 | 10 | Postoperative respiratory failure | 2 | No | 230 | 7 | Survivor |
| 4 | F | 80 | 35 | 22 | 9 | Postoperative respiratory failure | 5 | Yes | 263 | 8 | Survivor |
| 5 | M | 69 | 33 | 30 | 4 | Postoperative respiratory failure | 2 | No | 168 | 8 | Survivor |
| 6 | M | 66 | 24 | 40 | 6 | Sepsis | 1 | No | 294 | 6 | Survivor |
| 7 | F | 85 | 19 | 38 | 5 | Septic shock | 1 | No | 273 | 7 | Survivor |
| 8 | F | 80 | 33 | 63 | 10 | Sepsis in hemorrhagic shock | 4 | Yes | 256 | 10 | Survivor |
| 9 | F | 76 | 24 | 33 | 8 | Sepsis | 2 | No | 258 | 7 | Nonsurvivor |
| 10 | F | 75 | 22 | 35 | 5 | Postoperative respiratory failure | 1 | No | 239 | 6 | Survivor |
| 11 | F | 72 | 26 | 38 | 10 | Pneumonia | 6 | No | 175 | 6 | Survivor |
| 12 | F | 78 | 35 | 38 | 11 | Pneumonia | 4 | No | 141 | 6 | Survivor |
| 13 | M | 71 | 34 | 30 | 9 | Pancreatitis | 2 | Yes | 98 | 12 | Survivor |
| 14 | M | 60 | 25 | 29 | 3 | Sepsis | 9 | No | 290 | 6 | Survivor |
| Mean ± SD | 7 M/7 F | 75 ± 8 | 28 ± 5 | 36 ± 10 | 7 ± 2 | 4 ± 5 | 5 Yes/9 no | 217 ± 62 | 7 ± 2 | 2 Nonsurvivors/12 survivors |
Abbreviations: BMI Body mass index, SAPS II Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, ICU Intensive care unit, SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, ARDS Acute respiratory distress syndrome, PaO2/FiO2 Ratio of partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood to fraction of inspired oxygen, PEEP Positive end-expiratory pressure
aBefore starting the protocol (clinical)