Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| Patient characteristics, N = 40 | |
| Male, N (%) | 25 (62.5) |
| Age (mean ± SD) | 68 ± 13 |
| APACHE II (mean ± SD) | 19 ± 7 |
| Admission diagnosis, N (%) | |
| Acute respiratory failure | 16 (40) |
| Septic shock | 10 (25) |
| Multiple trauma | 8 (20) |
| Post cardiac arrest | 2 (5) |
| Others | 4 (10) |
| Respiratory characteristics and ventilator settings | |
| ARDS, N (%) | 36 (90) |
| Days on MV before study, median (IQR) | 11 (7–17) |
| PEEP cmH2O, mean ± SD | 7 ± 2 |
| PO2/FiO2 mean ± SD | 235 ± 62 |
| Pressure support, cmH2O, mean ± SD | 8 ± 3 |
| Tidal volume, L, mean ± SD | 0.48 ± 0.08 |
| Respiratory rate, br/min, mean ± SD | 23 ± 7 |
APACHE II Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, ARDS acute respiratory distress syndrome, MV mechanical ventilation, PEEP positive end-expiratory pressure, PO2/FiO2 partial pressure of arterial oxygen to inspired oxygen fraction ratio, SD standard deviation, IQR interquartile range