Table 1B.
Characteristics of the patients at the time of APE diagnosis.
| Patients with APE | Patients without APE | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 17) | (n = 27) | ||
| ICU Therapy | |||
| Vasopressors | 2 (12) | 4 (15) | 1 |
| Renal-replacement therapy | 0 | 0 | – |
| Antibiotic | 17 (100) | 27 (100) | 1 |
| Antiviral | 14 (82) | 14 (52) | 0.04 |
| Anticoagulant | 17 (100) | 21 (78) | 0.10 |
| LMWH/UFH | 15/2 | 21/0 | 0.37 |
| Dose (preventive/semi-curative/curative)a | 4/10/1 | 10/6/5 | 0.09 |
| Oxygen therapy | 17 (100) | 27 (100) | 1 |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | 16 (94) | 25 (93) | 1 |
| Neuromuscular blockers | 14 (82) | 24 (89) | 0.66 |
| Prone positioning | 12 (75) | 11 (42) | 0.05 |
| Number of sessions per patient | 5.3 ± 2.4 | 3.2 ± 2.3 | 0.04 |
| Duration of sessions, hours | 18.1 ± 1.7 | 17.9 ± 1.4 | 0.76 |
| Duration of prone positioning strategy, days | 7.5 ± 2.7 | 4.8 ± 3.1 | 0.03 |
| Inhaled pulmonary vasodilators | 2 (12) | 1 (4) | 0.55 |
| Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ventilator settings and respiratory-system mechanics | |||
| Tidal volume (ml per kg of PBW) | 6.0 ± 0.3 | 6.1 ± 0.4 | 0.83 |
| PEEP (cm of water) | 11.6 ± 1.9 | 11.1 ± 2.4 | 0.54 |
| Respiratory frequency (breaths per min) | 25 ± 3 | 23 ± 3 | 0.10 |
| CstRS (ml per cm of water) | 38.1 ± 8.2 | 42.2 ± 10.7 | 0.30 |
| Arterial blood gazes | |||
| PaO2 (mm Hg) | 84.5 ± 28.6 | 75.5 ± 16.4 | 0.24 |
| PaO2/FiO2 (mm Hg) | 202.0 ± 73 | 195 ± 71 | 0.74 |
| PaCO2 (mm Hg) | 49.1 ± 14.5 | 45 ± 14 | 0.49 |
| Laboratory findings | |||
| D-dimer, μg/mL | 5.3 ± 6.3 | 1.9 ± 1.2 | 0.03 |
| Troponin, pg/mL | 0.38 ± 1.6 | 0.03 ± 0.05 | 0.12 |
| BNP, pg/mL | 99 ± 153 | 32 ± 27 | 0.19 |
Values are mean ± standard deviation or number of patients (percentage of total). Significant results are in bold. BNP: brain natriuretic protein; CstRS: static compliance of the respiratory system; FIO2: fraction of inspired oxygen; LMWH: low molecular weight heparin; PaCO2: partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide; PaO2:partial pressure of arterial oxygen; PBW: predicted body weight; PEEP: positive end-expiratory pressure; UFH: unfractionated heparin.
a
Semi curative: subcutaneous enoxaparin 4000 international units bid or unfractionated heparin with a target of anti Xa at 0.2–0.3.