Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of PMV Patients (N = 62)
| Characteristic | Communicative Patients |
|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 61.7 (20.7) |
| Gender | |
| Male | 34 (54.8) |
| Female | 28 (45.2) |
| Marital status | |
| Married | 30 (48.4) |
| Single | 21 (33.9) |
| Divorced | 2 (3.2) |
| Widow | 9 (14.5) |
| Number of children, median (IQR) | 1.5 (0-5) |
| Financial difficulty (self-reported) | 22 (36.7) |
| Education | |
| 0–12 y | 40 (65.6) |
| >12 y | 21 (34.4) |
| Legal custodian: none | 32 (51.6) |
| Site of care | |
| Home | 40 (64.5) |
| Long-term care | 22 (35.5) |
| Cause for ventilation | |
| Neurologic acute∗ | 10 (16.1) |
| Neurologic degenerative† | 27 (43.5) |
| Chronic lung disease | 18 (29) |
| Heart disease | 3 (4.8) |
| Post sepsis | 9 (14.5) |
| Other | 8 (12.9) |
| Number of chronic diseases, mean (SD)‡ | 1.68 (1.80) |
| Functional status | |
| Barthel Index prior to PMV, mean (SD) | 60.4 (34.2) |
| Barthel Index change post PMV, §mean (SD) | 41 (30.3) |
| Medications | |
| Antidepressants | 21 (33.9) |
| Antipsychotics | 15 (24.2) |
| Pain | 17 (27.4) |
| Sedatives | 21 (33.9) |
| Daily ventilation | |
| <12 h/d | 5 (8.1) |
| 12–18 h/d | 11 (17.7) |
| >18 h/d | 46 (74.2) |
| Duration of PMV at study end, mo, median (IQR) | 36.6 (10.8-114.1) |
Unless otherwise noted, values are n (%).
∗
Acute neurologic causes, for example, post cerebrovascular accident, post head trauma, status post resuscitation.
†
Degenerative neurologic causes, for example, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, progressive neuromuscular diseases.
‡
Number of chronic diseases from the following: diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, chronic heart failure, hypertension, chronic lung disease, chronic renal failure, dementia, past history of cancer, past history of stroke.
§
Barthel index score: 0 = maximum independence, 100 = maximum dependence.