Table 5.
Comparison of characteristics between deceased group and survival group.
| Variables | Deceased group n = 25 | Survival group n = 51 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Gender, female, n (%) | 14 (56.0%) | 35 (68.6%) | 0.280 |
| Age at diagnosis, yrs | 57.0 (50.5-63.0) | 57.0 (50.5-63.0) | 0.104 |
| Disease duration, mos | 3.0 (2.0-4.0) | 6.0 (3.0-11.5) | 0.014 |
| On-admission BMI, kg/m2 | 21.9 (19.8-24.7) | 21.7 (20.7-24.4) | 0.349 |
| Weight lost in the last 3 months, kg | 5.0 (0.0-10.0) | 5.0 (0.0-9.0) | 0.286 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 6 (24.0%) | 10 (19.6%) | 0.659 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 3 (12.0%) | 10 (19.6%) | 0.408 |
| Known CHD, n (%) | 2 (8.0%) | 1 (2.0%) | 0.204 |
| Smoking, n (%) | 9 (36.0%) | 8 (15.7%) | 0.046 |
| Clinical manifestations | |||
| Skin ulcer, n (%) | 3 (12.0%) | 12 (23.5%) | 0.379 |
| Digits vasculitis, n (%) | 4 (16.0%) | 20 (39.2%) | 0.075 |
| Muscle pain, n (%) | 10 (40.0%) | 16 (31.4%) | 0.456 |
| Muscle weakness, n (%) | 13 (52.0%) | 29 (56.9%) | 0.689 |
| Dysphagia, n (%) | 13 (52.0%) | 12 (23.5%) | 0.013 |
| Arthralgia/arthritis, n (%) | 14 (56.0%) | 31 (60.8%) | 0.690 |
| MI, n (%) | 8 (32.0%) | 4 (7.8%) | 0.007 |
| RP-ILD, n (%) | 22 (88.0%) | 16 (31.4%) | <0.001 |
| Pneumothorax/pneumomediastinum, n (%) | 7 (28.0%) | 8 (15.7%) | 0.205 |
| PaO2 <60 mmHg, n (%) | 21 (84.0%) | 11 (21.6%) | <0.001 |
| On-admission laboratory features | |||
| Ferritin, ng/ml | 1,902.5 (1464.0-4089.0) | 1,190.0 (748.5-1840.5) | <0.001 |
| Ferritin >1,500 ng/ml, n (%), n = 22|48 | 15 (68.2%) | 14 (29.2%) | 0.002 |
| ESR, mm/h | 50.0 (29.5-62.0) | 27.0 (15.0-48.0) | 0.017 |
| CRP, mg/l | 14.3 (3.4-71.4) | 2.3 (0.5-5.7) | 0.001 |
| CK, U/l | 233.0 (142.5-371.0) | 152.0 (37.0-279.0) | 0.016 |
| LDH, U/l | 637.4 (463.0-755.0) | 311.0 (273.0-385.0) | <0.001 |
| AST, U/l | 81.5 (51.0-216.0) | 61.5 (40.3-107.8) | 0.054 |
| ALT, U/l | 56.5 (27.0-203.3) | 71.0 (41.3-107.8) | 0.937 |
| GGT, U/l | 192.0 (62.8-428.0) | 110.0 (75.8-271.3) | 0.076 |
| ALP, U/l | 107.0 (71.3-187.5) | 76.0 (61.0-116.5) | 0.027 |
| ALB, g/l | 27.6 ± 6.3 | 33.2 ± 4.0 | <0.001 |
| Cr, μmol/l | 62.3 (40.0-61.0) | 56.0 (948.5-66.0) | 0.224 |
| WBC, 10^9/L | 6.6 (5.4-8.1) | 5.7 (3.8-7.2) | 0.029 |
| NEUT, 10^9/L | 6.7 (4.6-7.3) | 4.0 (2.8-5.8) | 0.003 |
| LYM, 10^9/L | 0.6 (0.3-0.7) | 0.7 (0.4-1.1) | 0.028 |
| NLR | 13.3 (6.4-19.5) | 5.1 (3.5-9.6) | 0.004 |
| HGB, g/l | 120.0 ± 27.5 | 121.7 ± 14.4 | 0.670 |
| PLT, 10^9/L | 170.0 ± 75.7 | 177.7 ± 65.1 | 0.687 |
| Elevated cTnI, n (%), n = 24|43 | 8 (33.3%) | 2 (4.6%) | 0.006 |
| Elevated CK-MB, n (%), n = 23|39 | 5 (21.7%) | 6 (18.2%) | 0.211 |
| NT-proBNP, pg/ml | 200.5 (103.5-511.8) | 132.0 (72.5-271.3) | 0.114 |
| NT-BNP >600 pg/ml, n (%), n = 24|40 | 5 (20.8%) | 3 (7.5%) | 0.029 |
| Infection | |||
| CMV infection, n (%), n = 20|45 | 8 (40.0%) | 18 (40.0%) | 0.632 |
| PCP, n (%), n = 22|49 | 8 (36.3%) | 5 (10.2%) | 0.014 |
| Bacterial infection, n (%), n = 23|46 | 10 (43.5%) | 11 (23.9%) | 0.240 |
| Fungal infection, n (%), n = 22|48 | 3 (13.6%) | 3 (6.3%) | 0.407 |
| Medications | |||
| Pulse therapy, n (%) | 4 (16.0%) | 7 (13.7%) | 0.793 |
| CTX, n (%) | 4 (16.0%) | 4 (7.8%) | 0.290 |
| TAC, n (%) | 1 (4.0%) | 7 (13.7%) | 0.162 |
| CTX+TAC, n (%) | 7 (28.0%) | 34 (66.7%) | 0.001 |
| IVIG, n (%) | 21 (84.0%) | 26 (51.0%) | 0.037 |
| Steroid + DMARDs + tocilizumab, n (%) | 3 (12.0%) | 17 (33.3%) | 0.037 |
Continuous variables are presented as mean ± SD if normal distribution and median (interquartile range) if skewed distribution. Categorical variables were presented as n (%). Statistical significance: p < 0.05.
yrs, years; mos, months; BMI, body mass index; CHD, coronary heart disease; MI, myocardial involvement; RP-ILD, rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; CK, creatine kinase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; GGT, γ-glutamyl transferase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; Cr, creatinine; WBC, white blood cell; NEUT, neutrophil; LYM, lymphocyte; NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; HGB, hemoglobin; PLT, platelet; cTnI, cardiac troponin I; CK-MB, creatine kinase MB; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide; CMV, cytomegalovirus; PCP, pneumocystis pneumonia; CTX, cyclophosphamide; TAC, tacrolimus; IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin; DMARDs, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.