Table 1.
Characteristics and outcomes comparing dexamethasone and no dexamethasone group before and after propensity score-matching analysis.
| Original cohort |
Match cohort* |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | All n = 3777 |
Dexamethasone n = 2065 |
No Dexamethasone n = 1712 |
p-value | All n = 3304 |
Dexamethasone n = 1652 |
No Dexamethasone n = 1652 | p value |
| Demographic | ||||||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 60.3 (13.1) | 60.1 (12.9) | 60.6 (13.2) | 0.22 | 60.8 (13.0) | 60.6 (12.9) | 61.3 (13.3) | 0.12 |
| Male, n (%) | 2598 (68.8) | 1454 (70.4) | 1144 (66.8) | 0.010 | 2268 (68.7) | 1133 (68.6) | 1136 (68.8) | 0.91 |
| Country, n (%) | ||||||||
| Spain | 2456 (65.0) | 1217 (58.9) | 1239 (72.4) | <0.001 | 2358 (71.4) | 1169 (70.8) | 1189 (72.0) | <0.001 |
| Ireland | 44 (1.2) | 6 (0.3) | 38 (2.2) | 30 (0.9) | 6 (0.4) | 24 (1.5) | ||
| Colombia | 631 (16.7) | 476 (23.1) | 155 (9.1) | 351 (10.6) | 200 (12.1) | 151 (9.1) | ||
| Ecuador | 317 (8.4) | 185 (9) | 132 (7.7) | 241 (7.3) | 121 (7.3) | 120 (7.3) | ||
| Chile | 208 (5.5) | 96 (4.6) | 112 (6.5) | 197 (6.0) | 80 (4.8) | 117 (7.1) | ||
| Argentina | 80 (2.1) | 62 (3) | 18 (1.1) | 84 (2.5) | 54 (3.3) | 30 (1.8) | ||
| Uruguay | 21 (0.6) | 19 (0.9) | 2 (0.1) | 27 (0.8) | 19 (1.2) | 8 (0.5) | ||
| Brazil | 12 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 12 (0.7) | 8 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 8 (0.5) | ||
| Mexico | 7 (0.2) | 4 (0.2) | 3 (0.2) | 7 (0.2) | 3 (0.2) | 4 (0.2) | ||
| Bolivia | 1 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.1) | ||
| Comorbid conditions a, n (%) | ||||||||
| Congestive heart failure | 233 (6.2) | 132 (6.4) | 101 (5.9) | 0.53 | 189 (5.7) | 93 (5.6) | 97 (5.9) | 0.80 |
| Hypertension | 1654 (43.8) | 909 (44.0) | 745 (43.5) | 0.75 | 1505 (45.6) | 750 (45.4) | 758 (45.9) | 0.27 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 297 (7.9) | 155 (7.5) | 142 (8.3) | 0.37 | 262 (7.9) | 137 (8.3) | 119 (7.2) | 0.35 |
| Asthma | 163 (4.3) | 68 (3.3) | 95 (5.5) | 0.001 | 128 (3.9) | 59 (3.6) | 75 (4.5) | 0.24 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 232 (6.1) | 142 (6.9) | 90 (5.3) | 0.030 | 199 (6.0) | 99 (6.0) | 101 (6.1) | 0.90 |
| Neurologic disease | 50 (1.3) | 27 (1.3) | 23 (1.3) | 0.92 | 41 (1.3) | 21 (1.3) | 20 (1.2) | 0.92 |
| Hematological disease | 103 (2.7) | 52 (2.5) | 51 (3.0) | 0.38 | 94 (2.8) | 43 (2.6) | 55 (3.3) | 0.32 |
| HIV-AIDS | 16 (0.4) | 9 (0.4) | 7 (0.4) | 0.89 | 17 (0.5) | 8 (0.5) | 10 (0.6) | 0.68 |
| Obesity | 1206 (31.9) | 708 (34.3) | 498 (29.1) | 0.001 | 1075 (32.5) | 548 (33.2) | 516 (31.2) | 0.32 |
| Diabetes | 822 (21.8) | 500 (24.2) | 322 (18.8) | <0.001 | 704 (21.3) | 371 (22.5) | 313 (19.0) | 0.047 |
| Rheumatological disease | 94 (2.5) | 46 (2.2) | 48 (2.8) | 0.25 | 87 (2.6) | 43 (2.6) | 44 (2.7) | 0.89 |
| Laboratories at ICU admission | ||||||||
| FiO2%, mean (SD) | 63.4 (27.4) | 65 (27.0) | 61.4 (27.7) | <0.001 | 63 (27.5) | 63.4 (27.2) | 62.3 (28.1) | 0.23 |
| PaO2 mmHg, mean (SD) | 73.7 (24.7) | 72.9 (23.9) | 74.6 (25.5) | 0.06 | 74.3 (27.5) | 74.4 (24.5) | 74.2 (28.1) | 0.80 |
| PaO2/FiO2 Ratio, n (%) | ||||||||
| 0–50 | 124 (3.3) | 72 (3.5) | 52 (3.0) | 0.001 | 98 (3.0) | 43 (2.6) | 55 (3.3) | 0.40 |
| 50–100 | 1394 (36.9) | 816 (39.5) | 578 (33.8) | 1194 (36.1) | 612 (37.0) | 582 (35.2) | ||
| 100–150 | 925 (24.5) | 517 (25.0) | 408 (23.8) | 832 (25.2) | 442 (26.8) | 390 (23.6) | ||
| 150–200 | 535 (14.2) | 271 (13.1) | 264 (15.4) | 466 (14.1) | 215 (13.0) | 251 (15.2) | ||
| 200–250 | 308 (8.2) | 157 (7.6) | 151 (8.8) | 273 (8.3) | 142 (8.6) | 131 (7.9) | ||
| 250–300 | 210 (5.6) | 97 (4.7) | 113 (6.6) | 171 (5.2) | 86 (5.2) | 85 (5.1) | ||
| 300–350 | 122 (3.2) | 54 (2.6) | 68 (4.0) | 118 (3.6) | 39 (2.4) | 79 (4.8) | ||
| 350–400 | 71 (1.9) | 37 (1.8) | 34 (2.0) | 69 (2.1) | 34 (2.1) | 35 (2.1) | ||
| >400 | 88 (2.3) | 44 (2.1) | 44 (2.6) | 83 (2.5) | 39 (2.3) | 44 (2.7) | ||
| pH, n (%) | ||||||||
| 6.6–6.8 | 6 (0.2) | 3 (0.1) | 3 (0.2) | 0.33 | 5 (0.2) | 3 (0.2) | 2 (0.1) | 0.021 |
| 6.8–7.0 | 23 (0.6) | 12 (0.6) | 11 (0.6) | 20 (0.6) | 11 (0.7) | 9 (0.5) | ||
| 7.0–7.2 | 179 (4.7) | 99 (4.8) | 80 (4.7) | 158 (4.8) | 69 (4.2) | 89 (5.4) | ||
| 7.2–7.4 | 1461 (38.7) | 765 (37.0) | 696 (40.6) | 1242 (37.6) | 594 (36.0) | 648 (39.2) | ||
| 7.4–7.6 | 2105 (55.7) | 1184 (57.3) | 921 (53.8) | 1878 (56.8) | 975 (59.0) | 902 (54.7) | ||
| 7.6–7.8 | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.1) | ||
| 7.8–8.0 | 2 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Leucocytes, 109 cells/L, mean (SD) | 10.2 (5.5) | 10.5 (5.5) | 9.8 (5.4) | <0.001 | 10.1 (5.2) | 10.1 (5.2) | 10 (5.3) | 0.85 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL, median (IQR) | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | 0.42 | 1 (1–1) | 1.1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | 0.14 |
| C-Reactive Protein mg/dL, median (IQR) | 16 (8–29) | 15 (8–26) | 16 (9–28) | 0.30 | 16 (8–28) | 15 (8–28) | 17 (9–29) | 0.022 |
| Pulmonary infiltrates, n (%) | 3426 (90.7) | 1862 (90.2) | 1564 (91.4) | 0.21 | 3066 (91.2) | 1503 (91.0) | 1563 (91.4) | 0.70 |
| ICU interventions | ||||||||
| Tocilizumab, n (%) | 482 (12.8) | 187 (9.1) | 295 (17.2) | <0.001 | 349 (10.6) | 166 (10.0) | 192 (11.6) | 0.23 |
| HFNC, n (%) | 1034 (27.4) | 710 (34.4) | 324 (18.9) | <0.001 | 1085 (32.8) | 646 (39.1) | 334 (20.2) | <0.001 |
| Pronation, n (%) | 1954 (51.8) | 1181 (57.2) | 773 (45.2) | <0.001 | 1714 (51.9) | 895 (54.1) | 781 (47.3) | 0.001 |
| ICU Outcomes | ||||||||
| VAPb, n (%) | 535 (14.2) | 341 (16.5) | 194 (11.3) | <0.001 | 522 (15.8) | 282 (17.1) | 218 (13.2) | 0.014 |
| VATb, n (%) | 275 (7.3) | 185 (9.0) | 90 (5.3) | <0.001 | 195 (5.9) | 107 (6.5) | 79 (4.8) | 0.09 |
| HAP, n (%) | 51 (1.4) | 46 (2.2) | 5 (0.3) | <0.001 | 25 (0.8) | 19 (1.2) | 0 (0) | 0.07 |
| Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, n (%) | 2622 (69.4) | 1506 (72.9) | 1116 (65.2) | <0.001 | 2308 (69.9) | 1153 (69.8) | 1157 (70.0) | 0.91 |
| Days of Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, median (IQR) | 8 (0–16) | 8 (0–17) | 7 (0–15) | <0.001 | 8 (0–17) | 8 (0–17) | 8 (0–17) | 0.98 |
| Non-Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, n (%) | 438 (11.6) | 287 (13.9) | 151 (8.8) | <0.001 | 403 (12.2) | 235 (14.2) | 133 (8.1) | <0.001 |
| Hospital LOS, median (IQR) | 20 (12–33) | 19 (12−32) | 20 (11–34) | 0.34 | 20 (12–34) | 20 (13−33) | 21 (11–35) | 0.88 |
| ICU LOS, median (IQR) | 12 (6–21) | 12 (6–21) | 12 (5–21) | 0.010 | 12 (6–22) | 12 (6–22) | 12 (5–22) | 0.43 |
| Death, n (%) | 1136 (30.1) | 642 (31.1) | 494 (28.9) | 0.13 | 1009 (30.5) | 501 (30.3) | 512 (31.0) | 0.74 |
HIV-AIDS: Human immunodeficiency virus- Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome; PaO2: Partial arterial oxygen concentration; PaCO2: Partial arterial carbon dioxide concentration; FiO2: Inspired Fraction of Oxygen; VAP: Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia; VAT: Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronquitis; HFNC: High Flow Nasal Cannula; HAP: Hospital-acquired pneumonia; LOS: Length of stay; IQR: Interquartile range.*Nearest Neighbor Matching were used; aPatients may present more than one comorbidity; bSeven patients presented VAP and VAT together.