Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients included in this study
| Placebo | HMW-HA (Yabro®) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| N | 21 | 20 | |
| Age | 74.2 ± 10 | 77.4 ± 8.5 | 0.85 |
| Male (%) | 35 | 35 | 1.00 |
| Medical History (% of patients with history) | |||
| Home O2 therapy | 57 | 55 | 1.00 |
| COPD exacerbation requiring hospitalization in past year | 43 | 30 | 0.52 |
| Home NIV use | 19 | 15 | 1.00 |
| Coronary Artery Disease | 57 | 60 | 0.85 |
| Neurovascular Disease | 9.5 | 25 | 0.19 |
| Chronic Kidney Disease | 19 | 25 | 0.64 |
| Diabetes | 29 | 40 | 0.44 |
| Hypertension | 62 | 85 | 0.09 |
| Past Pneumonia | 38 | 25 | 0.37 |
| Peptic Ulcer Disease | 0 | 15 | 0.06 |
| IADL Score | 4.9 ± 2.6 | 4.7 ± 2.0 | 0.83 |
| Admission Vital Signs | |||
| Mean arterial pressure (mmHg) | 89 ± 9 | 87 ± 12 | 0.70 |
| Heart Rate (per minute) | 75 ± 10 | 81 ± 11 | 0.10 |
| Respiratory Rate (per minute) | 27 ± 5 | 27 ± 4 | 0.73 |
| Temperature (°C) | 36.0 ± 0.4 | 35.9 ± 0.5 | 0.47 |
| Body Mass Index | 26.9 ± 8.6 | 24.7 ± 5.7 | 0.50 |
| Admission Respiratory Parameters | |||
| FiO2 (%) | 27 ± 8 | 29 ± 7 | 0.38 |
| PaO2 (mmHg) | 62 ± 12 | 60 ± 15 | 0.59 |
| PaCO2 (mmHg) | 66 ± 13 | 63 ± 9 | 0.40 |
| pH | 7.34 ± 0.04 | 7.34 ± 0.04 | 0.95 |
| IPAP | 16.1 ± 3.4 | 16.3 ± 3.8 | 0.70 |
| PEEP | 6.1 ± 1.1 | 5.5 ± 0.7 | 0.10 |
| Admission Laboratory Values | |||
| Na (mEq/L) | 138 ± 3 | 139 ± 3 | 0.96 |
| K (mEq/L) | 4.1 ± 0.4 | 4.0 ± 0.5 | 0.21 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.0 ± 0.5 | 1.0 ± 0.6 | 0.96 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 40.2 ± 6.4 | 39.8 ± 12.1 | 0.90 |
| WBC (× 1,000 cells/µL) | 10.2 ± 4.2 | 9.8 ± 3.9 | 0.74 |
| APACHE II score | 14.9 ± 2.7 | 14.7 ± 3.7 | 0.85 |
| Positive sputum culture | 4/21# | 3/20* | 1.00 |
Groups do not differ with regards to demographics, medical history, or admission vital signs, respiratory parameters or laboratory values (entered as average ± SD). p-values calculated by Student’s t-test or Wilcoxon (depending on normality of the data), or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables. IADL = Score for Instrumental Activities of Daily Living [58]. FiO2 = fraction of inhaled oxygen. PaO2 = Partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood. PaCO2 = Partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood. IPAP = inspiratory positive airway pressure. PEEP = positive end-expiratory pressure. WBC = white blood cell count. APACHE = Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation [59]
# One patient each with methicillin-resistant S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and E. coli + P. aeruginosa
* One patient each with methicillin-resistant S. aureus, H. influenzae, and E. coli + H. influenzae + P. aeruginosa