Table 1 Baseline characteristics of 140 critically ill patients randomly assigned to the EMS group or the control group (mean ± standard deviation)
| Â | EMS group (n = 68) | Control group (n = 72) |
|---|---|---|
Age, years | 61 ± 19 | 58 ± 18 |
Gender M/F | 46/22 | 49/23 |
Severity of illness at ICU admission | Â | Â |
APACHE II score | 18 ± 4 | 18 ± 5 |
SOFA score | 9 ± 3 | 9 ± 3 |
SAPS III score | 61 ± 13 | 60 ± 14 |
Diagnostic category at admission | Â | Â |
Sepsis/septic shock, n(%) | 11 (16.2) | 14 (19.4) |
Trauma, n(%) | 12 (17.6) | 14 (19.4) |
Post-surgical, n(%) | 13 (19.1) | 12 (16.7) |
Brain injury, n(%) | 24 (25.3) | 23 (31.9) |
Respiratory failure, n(%) | 2 (2.9) | 4 (5.6) |
Other, n(%) | 6 (8.8) | 5 (6.9) |
Comorbidities | Â | Â |
Cardiovascular, n(%) | 31 (46) | 34 (47) |
Respiratory disease, n(%) | 8 (12) | 14 (19) |
GI disease, n(%) | 3 (4) | 2 (3) |
Hepatic disease, n(%) | 3 (4) | 1 (1) |
Renal disease, n(%) | 7 (10) | 9 (13) |
Diabetes melitus, n(%) | 9 (13) | 10 (14) |
Hematological disease, n(%) | 3 (4) | 1 (1) |
Other, n(%) | 8 (12) | 4 (6) |
None reported, n(%) | 17 (25) | 23 (31) |
Duration of sedation, days | 12 ± 10 | 12 ± 11 |
Sepsis/septic shock, n(%) | 54 (77) | 58 (80) |
Aminoglycoside use, days | 5 ± 8 | 8 ± 11 |
Corticosteroids use, days | 6 ± 9 | 5 ± 8 |
Neuromuscular blocking agents use, days | 1 ± 2 | 3 ± 5 |