Impact of a remifentanil supply shortage on mechanical ventilation in a tertiary care hospital: a retrospective comparison

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of primary/secondary outcome parameters and confounding variables

Variable	Shortage (n = 132)	Control (n = 141)	P value
Primary outcome parameter
Mechanical ventilation, hours	35 (14–211)	23 (13–66)
Secondary outcome parameters
Length of ICU stay, days	7 (3–17)	5 (3–10)
Days with non-invasive ventilation	0 (0–0)	0 (0–1)
Length of hospital stay, days	37 (17–63)	19 (12–41)
Pneumonia occurrence, no.	31 (24)	18 (13)
Sepsis occurrence, no.	22 (17)	12 (9)
Confounding variables
Age, years	58 (49–71)	58 (45–69)	0.720^a
Sex, female	53 (40)	67 (48)	0.270^b
Body mass index, kg m⁻²	25 (22–30)	24 (22–28)	0.153^a
SAPS III at ICU admission	47 (40–57)	42 (34–50)	<0.001^c
Maximum of SOFA score	8 (5–11)	7 (5–10)	0.600^c
Airway			0.004^b
Endotracheal tube	90 (68)	120 (85)
Primary tracheostomy	17 (13)	8 (6)
Secondary tracheostomy	25 (19)	13 (9)
COPD	18 (14)	21 (15)	0.902^b
Intracranial operation or TBI	19 (14)	22 (15)	0.913^b
Coma	7 (5)	4 (3)	0.467^b
Delirium	21 (16)	24 (17)	0.933^b

Abbreviations: COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ICU intensive care unit, SAPS III Simplified Acute Physiology Score III, SOFA Sequential/Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment, TBI traumatic brain injury
Data are given as median with 25th and 75th percentile or absolute count with percentage
Statistical methods: ^aWelch two-sample t test, ^bPearson’s chi-squared test with Yates’s continuity correction, ^cWilcoxon rank-sum test

ISSN: 1364-8535