Table 4. Comparison of outcomes between NGS and no-NGS groups.

The primary outcome: There was a significant difference in 28-day all-cause mortality between the two groups (P = 0.006). The secondary outcome: There was no significant difference in the length of stay in the ICU, the duration of mechanical ventilation, ECMO, prone position ventilation, or the cost of the ICU stay between the two groups (P > 0.05). The chi-square test was utilized to calculate the difference between the two groups in the primary outcome. The t-test was utilized to calculate the difference between the two groups in the secondary outcome. The measured data of patients’ outcomes in the above table were shown by median (interquartile range).

	NGS (n = 42)	no-NGS (n = 53)	P-value
The primary outcome
28-day all-cause mortality	9 (21.4%)	26 (49.1%)	0.006*
The secondary outcomes
Length of stay in ICU (days)	12 (7, 20)	11 (8, 15)	0.719
Duration of mechanical ventilation (h)	240 (144, 353)	216 (134, 311)	0.810
Duration of ECMO (days)	15 (11, 18)	10 (10, 23)	0.500
Duration of prone position ventilation (h)	89 (63, 117)	96 (71, 121)	0.345
Cost in ICU (thousand CNY)	82.3 (55.1, 211.1)	98.9 (68.9, 141.1)	0.297

Note:

^*P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.