Table 3.
Clinical and laboratory characteristics of the study population and comparison between those who did and did not develop a healthcare-associated infection.
| Variable | No Healthcare-Associated Infection (n = 41) | Healthcare-Associated Infection (n = 83) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic Characteristics | |||
| Age (years) * (%) | 53.67 (±12.31) | 60.62 (±10.38) | 0.001 a |
| <50 years (%) | 30 (76.92) | 9 (23.08) | 0.025 b |
| 50–59 years (%) | 21 (55.26) | 17 (44.74) | |
| ≥60 years (%) | 23 (48.94) | 24 (51.06) | |
| Sex | 0.370 b | ||
| Female (%) | 15 (68.18) | 7 (31.82) | |
| Male (%) | 59 (57.84) | 43 (42.16) | |
| Number of comorbidities ** | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–3) | 0.422 c |
| No comorbidity (%) | 13 (72.22) | 5 (27.78) | 0.449 b |
| Only 1 (%) | 27 (55.10) | 22 (44.90) | |
| More than 2 (%) | 34 (59.65) | 23 (40.35) | |
| Obesity (%) | 46 (60.53) | 30 (39.47) | 0.808 b |
| Diabetes (%) | 20 (57.14) | 15 (42.86) | 0.718 b |
| Hypertension (%) | 19 (54.29) | 16 (45.71) | 0.443 b |
| Heart failure (%) | 5 (62.50) | 3 (37.50) | 0.998 d |
| Asthma (%) | 15 (62.50) | 9 (37.50) | 0.754 b |
| Chronic kidney disease (%) | 1 (14.29) | 6 (85.71) | 0.017 d |
| Cancer (%) | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 0.998 d |
| Immunosuppression (%) | 9 (52.94) | 8 (47.06) | 0.512 b |
| Length of hospital stay (days) ** | 17.5 (13–23) | 21.5 (16–32) | 0.003 c |
| Time in ICU (days) ** | 8 (4–12) | 13 (10–23) | 0.001 c |
| Time in MV (days) ** | 7 (4–11) | 14.5 (10–27) | <0.001 c |
| Laboratory Characteristics | |||
| SatO2 (%) ** | 87.5 (84–90) | 85 (78–89) | 0.055 c |
| PaO2/FiO2 ratio ** | 261 (220–307) | 224.5 (136–276) | 0.002 c |
| Leukocytes (cells/mm3) ** | 9990 (7000–11,000) | 11,865 (8590–16,810) | 0.011 c |
| Percentage of lymphocytes (%) ** | 8 (6–11) | 6.2 (3.7–10) | 0.042 c |
| Platelets (cells/mm3) ** | 308,500 (245,000–362,000) | 276,000 (210,000–356,000) | 0.134 c |
| CRP (mg/dL) ** | 11.5 (5.22–17.35) | 13.59 (9.92–17.95) | 0.189 c |
| Procalcitonin (ng/mL) ** | 0.06 (0.03–0.17) | 0.3 (0.126–0.69) | <0.001 c |
| LDH (U/L) ** | 691.5 (552–854) | 853 (639–1160) | 0.001 c |
| CPK-Total (U/L) ** | 87 (47–161) | 132.5 (66–225) | 0.028 c |
| CPK-MB (U/L) ** | 25 (19.9–35) | 27.75 (20–40) | 0.469 c |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) ** | 0.68 (0.39–0.90) | 0.615 (0.39–0.83) | 0.624 c |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) ** | 0.84 (0.7–0.98) | 0.96 (0.79–1.25) | 0.002 c |
| Treatment Administered | |||
| Received antibiotic therapy (%) | 0.998 d | ||
| No | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | |
| Yes | 73 (59.35) | 50 (40.65) | |
| Antibiotic therapy received | |||
| Ceftriaxone (%) | 0.006 b | ||
| No | 45 (51.72) | 42 (48.28) | |
| Yes | 29 (78.38) | 8 (21.62) | |
| Azithromycin (%) | 0.083 d | ||
| No | 66 (57.39) | 49 (42.61) | |
| Yes | 8 (88.89) | 1 (11.11) | |
| Piperacillin/Tazobactam (%) | 0.076 b | ||
| No | 46 (66.67) | 23 (33.33) | |
| Yes | 28 (50.91) | 27 (49.09) | |
| Meropenem (%) | 0.291 b | ||
| No | 58 (62.37) | 35 (37.63) | |
| Yes | 16 (51.61) | 15 (48.39) | |
| Vancomycin (%) | 0.799 b | ||
| No | 49 (60.49) | 32 (39.51) | |
| Yes | 25 (58.14) | 18 (41.86) | |
| Linezolid (%) | 0.998 d | ||
| No | 72 (60) | 48 (40) | |
| Yes | 2 (50) | 2 (50) | |
| Colistin (%) | 0.998 d | ||
| No | 73 (59.35) | 50 (40.65) | |
| Yes | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | |
| Received corticosteroid therapy (%) | 0.085 d | ||
| No | 0 (0) | 2 (100) | |
| Yes | 73 (60.33) | 48 (39.67) | |
| Corticotherapy Received | |||
| Dexamethasone 4 mg (%) | 0.647 d | ||
| No | 71 (59.17) | 49 (40.83) | |
| Yes | 3 (75) | 1 (25) | |
| Dexamethasone 6 mg (%) | 0.013 b | ||
| No | 40 (51.28) | 38 (48.72) | |
| Yes | 34 (73.91) | 12 (26.09) | |
| Methylprednisolone 100 mg (%) | 0.067 b | ||
| No | 39 (68.42) | 18 (31.58) | |
| Yes | 35 (52.24) | 32 (47.76) | |
| Methylprednisolone 500 mg (%) | 0.266 d | ||
| No | 71 (61.21) | 45 (38.79) | |
| Yes | 3 (37.50) | 5 (62.50) | |
| Received colchicine therapy (%) | 0.071 b | ||
| No | 57 (64.77) | 31 (35.23) | |
| Yes | 17 (47.22) | 19 (52.78) | |
| Received tocilizumab therapy (%) | 0.258 b | ||
| No | 61 (62.24) | 37 (37.76) | |
| Yes | 13 (50) | 13 (50) | |
| Received dialysis therapy (%) | 0.001 b | ||
| No | 71 (65.14) | 38 (34.86) | |
| Yes | 3 (20) | 12 (80) | |
| Received vasopressor therapy (%) | 0.004 b | ||
| No | 46 (71.88) | 18 (28.13) | |
| Yes | 28 (46.67) | 32 (53.33) |
* Mean and standard deviation ** Median and interquartile range; a Student’s t-test for equal variances; b χ2; c U-Mann–Whitney; d Fisher’s exact. ICU: intensive care unit, MV: mechanical ventilation, SatO2: oxygen saturation, PaO2/FiO2: ratio of oxygen pressure to inspired oxygen fraction, CRP: C-reactive protein, LDH: lactate dehydrogenase, CPK: creatinine phosphokinase. Bold, statistically significant values.