Table 1.
Clinical and demographic characteristics
| Characteristic | All patients (n = 177) | “Appropriate” strategy (n = 96) | “Inappropriate” strategy (n = 81) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 72 ± 12 | 71 ± 14 | 72 ± 10 | 0.73 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 28 ± 5 | 27 ± 4 | 29 ± 6 | 0.08 |
| SAPS II score at admission | 42 [29–50] | 42 [30–48] | 45 [33–55] | 0.06 |
| SOFA score at admission | 5 [2–6] | 5 [3–6] | 5 [2–6] | 0.81 |
| SOFA score at study inclusion | 5 [3–7] | 5 [3–7] | 5 [3–7] | 0.46 |
| RASS score at study inclusion | − 1 [− 2; 1] | − 2 [− 2; 1] | − 1 [− 2; 1] | 0.33 |
| ICU days before study inclusion | 1 [0–2] | 1 [0–2] | 1 [0–2] | 0.91 |
| Transfused, n (%) | 95 (54) | 48 (50) | 47 (58) | 0.36 |
| Comorbidity | ||||
| Heart disease, n (%) | 102 (58) | 58 (60) | 44 (54) | 0.50 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 118 (67) | 62 (65) | 56 (69) | 0.63 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 53 (30) | 26 (27) | 27 (33) | 0.46 |
| Chronic anemia, n (%) | 28 (16) | 15 (16) | 13 (16) | 0.99 |
| COPD/asthma, n (%) | 30 (17) | 11 (11) | 19 (23) | 0.06 |
| History of smoking, n (%) | 45 (26) | 25 (26) | 14 (17) | 0.22 |
| Chronic renal disease, n (%) | 49 (28) | 22 (23) | 27 (33) | 0.22 |
| Reason for admission | ||||
| Sepsis/septic shock, n (%) | 58 (33) | 30 (31) | 28 (35) | 0.76 |
| Respiratory failure, n (%) | 50 (28) | 30 (31) | 20 (25) | 0.42 |
| Hypovolemic shock, n (%) | 28 (16) | 15 (16) | 13 (16) | 0.94 |
| Cardiogenic shock, n (%) | 19 (11) | 6 (6) | 13 (16) | 0.06 |
| Trauma, n (%) | 8 (4) | 4 (4) | 4 (5) | 0.80 |
| Others | 13 (7) | 11 (11) | 3 (1) | 0.10 |
| Interventions on admission | ||||
| Mechanical ventilation, n (%) | 157 (88) | 88 (93) | 69 (85) | 0.18 |
| Vasopressors, n (%) | 81 (46) | 47 (49) | 34 (42) | 0.40 |
| Laboratory values on inclusion | ||||
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 8.7 ± 0.7 | 8.8 ± 0.6 | 8.6 ± 0.8 | 0.06 |
| MCV, fL | 88 ± 9 | 90 ± 6 | 87 ± 11 | 0.07 |
| RDW, % | 15.9 ± 3.0 | 15.4 ± 2.5 | 16.4 ± 3.3 | 0.02 |
| Platelets, 103/μL | 179 [129–266] | 178 [132–282] | 189 [126–244] | 0.72 |
| INR | 1.27 ± 0.3 | 1.26 ± 0.3 | 1.32 ± 0.3 | 0.12 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.09 [0.89–2.01] | 1.08 [0.77–1.96] | 1.10 [0.98–2.40] | 0.15 |
| Bilirubin, mg/dL | 0.72 [0.41–1.10] | 0.85 [0.45–1.00] | 0.63 [0.41–1.00] | 0.26 |
| Lactate, mmol/L | 1.6 [1.1–2.0] | 1.4 [1.0–2.0] | 2.0 [1.2–2.0] | 0.04 |
| CaO2, mL | 12.4 ± 1.6 | 12.5 ± 1.1 | 12.2 ± 2.1 | 0.26 |
| ScvO2, % | 71 ± 9 | 71 ± 10 | 73 ± 9 | 0.16 |
BMI body mass index, SAPS Simplified Acute Physiology Score, RASS Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, RDW red blood cell distribution width, MCV mean corpuscular volume, INR international normalized ratio, CaO2 arterial oxygen content, ScvO2 central venous oxygen saturation