Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics, reasons for intensive care unit (ICU) admission and past medical history
| Characteristics | Humidified oxygen therapy (HO group) (n = 136) |
Non-humidified oxygen therapy (NHO group) (n = 142) |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 64 (51–77) | 63.5 (54.25–74) |
| Male sex, n (%) | 94 (69.1%) | 91 (64.1%) |
| Previous use of oxygen in hospital before ICU admission, n (%) | 90 (66.2%) | 103 (72.5%) |
| Previous use of oxygen at home, n (%) | 3 (2.2%) | 8 (5.7%) |
| Reasons for ICU admission | ||
| Respiratory failure, n (%) | 50 (36.8%) | 39 (27.5%) |
| Cardiac failure/lung edema, n (%) | 2 (1.5%) | 12 (8.5%) |
| Sepsis, n (%) | 34 (25.0%) | 39 (27.5%) |
| Renal and metabolic failure, n (%) | 15 (11.0%) | 15 (10.6%) |
| Others, n (%) | 35 (25.7%) | 37 (26.1%) |
| Illness potentially influencing evaluation of discomfort score | ||
| ENT cancer, n (%) | 5 (3.7%) | 5 (3.5%) |
| Sjögren’s syndrome, n (%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.7%) |
| Past cervical or facial radiotherapy, n (%) | 4 (2.9%) | 4 (2.8%) |
| Past or current tobacco use, n (%) | 67 (49.3%) | 64 (45.4%) |
ENT ear, nose and throat, HO humidified oxygen, NHO non-humidified oxygen