Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of intubated patients admitted to the intensive care unit.
| Patients admitted during the 1st wave (n = 124) | Patients admitted during the 2nd wave (n = 99) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median (IQR), years | 64.5 (57-73) | 68 (59-74) | 0.1a |
| < 40, n (%) | 7 (5.6) | 1 (1) | |
| 40-49, n (%) | 5 (4) | 5 (5) | |
| 50-59, n (%) | 34 (27.4) | 22 (22.2) | |
| 60-69, n (%) | 37 (29.8) | 30 (30.3) | |
| 70-79, n (%) | 32 (25.8) | 31 (31.3) | |
| ≥ 80, n (%) | 9 (7.3) | 10 (10.1) | |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.74b | ||
| Female | 29 (23.4) | 25 (25.3) | |
| Male | 95 (76.6) | 74 (74.7) | |
| Body mass index, median (IQR), kg/m2 | 27.8 (25.5-31.8) | 28 (24.6-32.8) | 0.99a |
| < 25, n (%) | 23 (18.5) | 27 (27.3) | |
| 25-29, n (%) | 58 (46.8) | 35 (35.4) | |
| 30-34, n (%) | 31 (25) | 23 (23.2) | |
| 35-39, n (%) | 10 (8.1) | 9 (9.1) | |
| ≥ 40, n (%) | 2 (1.6) | 5 (5) | |
| Duration of symptoms before hospital admission, median (IQR), days | 7 (4-9) | 6 (3-9) | 0.55a |
| Time from hospital to ICU admission, median (IQR), days | 2 (0-3) | 3 (1-7) | < 0.01a |
| Duration of symptoms before intubation, median (IQR), days | 9 (7-11) | 10 (8-14) | < 0.01a |
| Time from hospital admission to intubation, median (IQR), days | 2 (0-4) | 4 (1-7) | < 0.01a |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| None | 27 (21.8) | 11 (11.1) | 0.b |
| Hypertension | 60 (48.4) | 47 (47.47) | 0.89b |
| Diabetes | 33 (26.6) | 40 (40.4) | 0.02b |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 34 (27.4) | 33 (33.3) | 0.33b |
| Cardiomyopathy and heart failure | 29 (23.4) | 13 (13.1) | 0.05b |
| Smoker | 19 (15.3) | 21 (21.4) | 0.23b |
| COPD | 9 (7.3) | 7 (7.1) | 0.94b |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 7 (5.7) | 10 (10.1) | 0.21b |
| Malignancyd | 10 (8.1) | 13 (13.1) | 0.21b |
| Chronic kidney disease | 10 (8.1) | 9 (9.1) | 0.78b |
| Severity scores at the admission, median (IQR) | |||
| APACHE II score | 22 (14-29) | 26 (18-30) | 0.01a |
| SAPS II score | 52.5 (40.5-65) | 60 (43-72) | 0.01a |
| SOFA score | 6 (4-7) | 6 (4-8) | 0.13a |
| Laboratory data, median (IQR) | |||
| White blood cell count, x109/L | 7.6 (5.8-10.4) | 11.5 (8.5-15) | < 0.01a |
| Neutrophil count, x109/L | 6.46 (4.8-9.5) | 10.1 (7.3-13.3) | < 0.01a |
| Lymphocyte count, x109/L | 0.54 (0.37-0.83) | 0.54 (0.31-0.79) | 0.4a |
| Lymphocyte count < 1 × 109/L, n (%) | 92 (74.2) | 84 (84.9) | 0.05b |
| Neutrophils/lymphocytes ratio (95% CI) | 11.3 (6.6-19.2) | 17 (10-31.2) | < 0.01a |
| Platelet count, x109/L | 199 (158-250) | 260 (185-342) | < 0.01a |
| D-dimer, µg/L | 1553 (965-2476) | 1528.5 (909-3202) | 0.5a |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 81 (66.5-105) | 85 (64-112) | 0.47a |
| Creatinine ≥ 1.5 mg/dL, n (%) | 10 (8) | 15 (15.2) | 0.09c |
| Aspartate aminotransferase, U/L | 54 (42-79) | 46 (28-72) | 0.03a |
| Alanine aminotransferase, U/L | 34.5 (27-54) | 46 (28-67) | 0.09a |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 9 (6-14) | 9 (6-13) | 0.32a |
| Hypersensitive troponin T (hsTnT), ng/L | 18 (11-41.5) | 21 (10-49) | 0.75a |
| hsTnT ≥ 14 ng/Le, n (%) | 81 (65.3) | 69 (69.7) | 0.48a |
| Procalcitonin, ng/mL | 0.41 (0.22-1.17) | 0.46 (0.2-1.71) | 0.61a |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 158 (101.5-207.8) | 134.7 (79.7-207) | 0.27a |
| Arterial lactate, mmol/L | 0.9 (0.7-1.1) | 1.5 (1.2-2) | < 0.01a |
APACHE, Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICU, intensive care unit; SAPS, Simplified Acute Physiology Score; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.
a
Mann-Whitney U test.
b
Chi-2 test.
c
Fisher’s exact test.
d
Malignancy includes active solid or haematologic neoplasia and solid or haematologic neoplasia in remission.
e
Concentration of hsTnT defining myocardial injury (99th percentile of the upper reference limit).