Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| HFNC | NPPV | p | |
| Patients, number | 13 | 19 | |
| Age, year, median (range) | 73 (67–76) | 73 (58–77) | 0.66 |
| Male sex, number (%) | 10 (77) | 16 (80) | 0.58 |
| Cause of interstitial pneumonia | |||
| Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, number | 8 | 12 | |
| Acute exacerbation of IPF | 7 | 11 | |
| Idiopathic NSIP | 1 | 1 | |
| Connective tissue disease, number | 4 | 4 | |
| Others, number | 1 | 3 | |
| Underlying disease | |||
| Diabetes mellitus, number (%) | 5 | 8 | 0.84 |
| Chronic kidney disease, number (%) | 1 | 0 | 0.41 |
| Chronic heart disease, number (%) | 1 | 5 | 0.20 |
| Liver disease, number (%) | 0 | 0 | NA |
| Malignancy, number (%) | 8 | 8 | 0.28 |
| Physiological data | |||
| Tempreture, °C | 37.5 (36.6–38.1) | 36.8 (36.6–37.4) | 0.058 |
| Mean BP, mmHg | 92 (89–98) | 74 (65–94) | 0.013 |
| Respiratory rate per min | 25 (20–27) | 24 (21–33) | 0.31 |
| Laboratory Findings | |||
| WBC per mm3 | 13100 (9400–15500) | 11200 (6200–16700) | 0.52 |
| CRP, mg/dL | 12.2 (6.3–16.7) | 12.0 (8.0–16.1) | 0.80 |
| LDH, IU/L | 391 (265–498) | 414(358–541) | 0.51 |
| KL-6, U/mL | 682 (542–1485) | 1083 (575–1398) | 0.84 |
| Arterial blood gas | |||
| PaO2, mmHg | 62 (56–75) | 74 (68–88) | NA |
| PaCO2, mmHg | 34 (31–36) | 38 (34–40) | 0.12 |
| PaO2/FIO2 ratio | 133 (105–158) | 144 (114–191) | 0.43 |
| APACHE II score, median (range) | 22 (18–26) | 27 (25–30) | 0.006 |
| Treatment | |||
| Steroid pulse, number (%) | 12 | 18 | |
| Steroid, number (%) | 13 | 18 | |
| Immunosupressant, number (%) | 6 | 6 | |
| IVCY, number (%) | 1 | 0 |
Data are presented as No. (%), or median (interquartile range) unless otherwise noted.
AE: acute exacerbation, APACHE: acute physiology and chronic health evaluation, BP: blood pressure, CRP: C-reactive protein, IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, IVCY: intravenous cyclophosphamide, KL-6: Krebs von der Lungen-6, LDH: lactate dehydrogenase, NSIP: non-specific interstitial pneumonia, HFNC: high-flow nasal cannula, NPPV: non-invasive positive pressure ventilation.