Table 2.
Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized AECOPD Patients Treated with NCS, SCS, or NCS+SCS Before Propensity Score Matching
| Variables | NCS | SCS | NCS+SCS | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (N=1091) | (N=709) | (N=1846) | ||
| Primary outcomes | ||||
| Length of hospital stay (days) | 11.8±6.84 | 12.0±5.10 | 13.3±6.46 | <0.001a |
| Mortality | 11 (1.0%) | 15 (2.1%) | 31 (1.7%) | <0.001b |
| Improvement monitor index | ||||
| Improvement of PaO2 (mmHg) | 5.9±31.46 | 6.4±44.01 | 5.5±37.07 | 0.001a |
| Improvement of PaCO2 (mmHg) | −5.3±14.42 | −4.9±16.78 | −4.3±15.30 | 0.001a |
| Improvement of SaO2 (%) | 4.8±11.82 | 3.9±12.92 | 2.9±8.45 | <0.001a |
| Improvement of pH | 0.0±0.07 | 0.0±0.08 | 0.0±0.07 | <0.001a |
| Secondary outcomes | ||||
| Intubation rate | 32 (2.9%) | 15 (2.1%) | 53 (2.9%) | 0.147b |
| New onset pneumonia in hospital | 21 (1.9%) | 20 (2.8%) | 49 (2.7%) | 0.966b |
| Rate of pneumonia improvement at discharge# | 241 (22.1%) | 162 (22.8%) | 456 (24.7%) | 0.108b |
| Hospitalization expense (CNY) | 14,668.6±15,563.76 | 14,614.4±10,242.93 | 17,905.4±15,503.07 | <0.001a |
Notes: Data were summarized as mean±standard deviation for continuous variables and n (percentage) for categorical data. #Rate of pneumonia improvement at discharge was defined as the reduction in the incidence of pneumonia from baseline to discharge. aOne-way analysis of variance. bChi-square test.
Abbreviations: NCS, nebulized corticosteroids; SCS, systemic corticosteroids; AECOPD, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CNY, China Yuan.