Table 1.
Characteristics and statistical analysis of the pre-pandemic and COVID-19 groups.
| Variable | Control Group 2018–2019 (n = 189) |
COVID-19 Group 2020–2021 (n = 372) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender—males (%) | 136 (72) | 241 (64.2) | 0.087 |
| Age (median, range, IQR) | 65, 18–97, 20 | 67, 22–90, 16 | 0.753 |
| Admission up to 48 h after admission to hospital (%) | 82 (43.4) | 186 (50) | 0.138 |
| Transfer from another hospital or department | 107 (56.6) | 186 (50) | 0.138 |
| No. of patients on mechanical ventilation only | 180 (95.2) | 78 (21.0) | <0.0001 |
| No. of patients on HFOT only | 3 (1.6) | 112 (30.1) | <0.0001 |
| No. of patient on both mechanical ventilation and HFOT | 6 (3.2) | 182 (48.9) | <0.0001 |
| No. of patients on ECMO | 0 (0.0) | 24 (6.5) | 0.004 |
| ICU mortality | 74 (39.2) | 158 (42.5) | 0.450 |
HFOT: high-flow oxygen therapy; ECMO: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; IQR: interquartile range.