Table 1.
Baseline characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted in the intensive care unit.
| All (n = 42) | Early intubation (n = 14) | Delayed or no intubation (n = 24) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years (IQR) | 65 (58–71) | 63 (57–69) | 64 (57–74) | 0.68 |
| Sex, female, n (%) | 8 (19) | 6 (43) | 2 (8) | 0.03 |
| Race, n (%) | 0.69 | |||
| Caucasian | 39 (93) | 14 (100) | 21 (85) | |
| Asian | 2 (5) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | |
| Middle Eastern | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | |
| Comorbidity, n (%) | 26 (62) | 8 (57) | 15 (63) | 0.74 |
| Cardiovascular | 20 (48) | 7 (50) | 11 (46) | 0.80 |
| Diabetes Mellitus | 7 (17) | 2 (14) | 5 (21) | 1 |
| Chronic lung disease | 4 (10) | 1 (7) | 3 (13) | 1 |
| Renal failure | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 1 (4) | 1 |
| Malignancy | 5 (12) | 0 (0) | 4 (17) | 0.27 |
| SOFA score (IQR) | 4 (4–6) | 4 (4–5) | 4 (4–6) | 0.8 |
| Respiratory | 4 (3–4) | 4 (4–4) | 4 (3–4) | 0.11 |
| Coagulation | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–1) | 0.16 |
| Hepatic | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.3 |
| Neurologic | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.97 |
| Cardiovascular | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.2 |
| Renal | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.77 |
| Usage of non-rebreather mask, n (%) | 41 (98) | 14 (100) | 23 (96) | 1 |
| Usage of high-flow nasal oxygen, n (%) | 11 (26) | 0 (0) | 11 (46) | 0.003 |
| Usage of non-invasive mechanical ventilation, n (%) | 2 (5) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | 0.52 |
| Lung mechanics at day of intubation, (IQR) | ||||
| Ppeak | NA | 39 (36–41) | 37 (32–42) | 0.6 |
| Pplateau | NA | 28 (28–31) | 28 (25–32) | 0.45 |
| PEEPtotal | NA | 17 (13–19) | 14 (11–19) | 0.2 |
| Pdriving | NA | 13 (10–15) | 13 (12–17) | 0.27 |
| Transferred intubated from another hospital, n (%) | 19 (45) | 12 (86) | 3 (13) | <0.001 |
| Outcomes within 28 days | ||||
| Intubation, n (%) | 36 (86) | 14 (100) | 18 (75) | 0.06 |
| Intubation outside ICU, n (%) | 21 (50) | 12 (86) | 6 (25) | 0.004 |
| Septic shock, n (%) | 18 (43) | 6 (43) | 11 (46) | 1 |
| Continuous renal replacement therapy, n (%) | 17 (41) | 4 (29) | 12 (50) | 0.19 |
| Ventilator-free days, days (IQR) | NA | 3 (0–17) | 2 (1–13) | 0.57 |
| ICU-free days, days (IQR) | 0 (0–15) | 0 (0–16) | 0 (0–12) | 0.59 |
| Time from acute respiratory failure to ICU admission, days (IQR) | 1 (0–1) | 1 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) | 0.87 |
| ICU-mortality, n (%) | 11 (26) | 3 (21) | 8 (33) | 0.48 |
IQR, interquartile range; SOFA, sequential organ failure assessment; NA, not applicable; ICU, intensive care unit.
“Delayed or no intubation” group consisted of patients receiving non-rebreather mask for equal to or more than 24 h or high-flow nasal oxygen for any period of time or non-invasive mechanical ventilation for any period of time in an attempt to avoid intubation. The remaining intubated patients comprised the “early intubation” group.
Six patients admitted in the ICU were not intubated and therefore were included in the delayed or no intubation group. Four patients (transferred intubated from another hospital) were not categorized into the early vs. delayed or no intubation group due to unavailability of relevant data.
Cardiovascular comorbidities included congestive heart failure, hypertension, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemia and valvular dysfunction.