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Table 1 Demographics and clinical characteristics of the patients

From: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid dilution in ICU patients: what we should know and what we should do

Characteristics

All patients

Group A

(urea plasma/urea BALF <4.2)

Group B

(urea plasma/urea BALF ≥4.2)

P value

n = 223

n = 110

n = 113

Age, years

54 (43–67)

51 (43–66)

56 (43–67)

0.945

Gender, male

103 (46.2)

53 (48.2)

50 (44.2)

0.556

BMI, kg/m2

21.9 (18.5–23.4)

22.1 (18.4–23.4)

21.8 (18.5–23.4)

0.515

PaO2/FiO2

210.4 (120.4–271.5)

250.9 (206.7–320.5)

137.4 (88.6–210.4)

<0.001

Pulmonary disease

 AECOPD

68 (30.5)

33 (30.0)

35 (30.9)

0.875

 CAP

61 (27.4)

28 (25.5)

35 (30.9)

0.36

 HAP

33 (14.8)

17 (15.5)

14 (12.4)

0.508

 VAP

16 (7.2)

7 (6.4)

9 (7.9)

0.643

 IPA

28 (12.6)

13 (11.8)

15 (13.3)

0.743

 Others

17 (7.5)

12 (9.0)

5 (4.6)

0.068

APACHE II score

17 (13–23)

16 (14–22)

17 (13–23)

0.799

Intubation and mechanical ventilation

47 (21.1)

21 (19.1)

26 (23.0)

0.473

Lesion location

 Upper lobe

56 (25.1)

26 (23.6)

30 (26.5)

0.616

 Middle and lower lobe

93 (41.7)

51 (46.4)

42 (37.2)

0.164

 Diffusive lesions

74 (33.2)

33 (30.3)

41 (36.3)

0.319

Sedative and narcotic drugs

 Midazolam and fentanyl

96 (43.0)

51 (46.4)

45 (39.8)

0.324

 Propofol and fentanyl

89 (39.9)

42 (38.2)

47 (41.6)

0.603

 Dexmedetomidine

38 (17.1)

17 (15.4)

21 (18.6)

0.534

Bronchodilators was given before BAL

57 (25.6)

39 (35.6)

18 (15.9)

<0.001

RM before BAL

23 (10.3)

17 (15.5)

6 (5.3)

0.013

Operator

 Resident

71 (31.8)

5 (4.5)

66 (58.4)

<0.001

 Primary care physician

130 (58.3)

93 (84.5)

37 (32.7)

<0.001

 Others

22 (9.9)

12 (11.0)

10 (8.9)

0.616

Diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia

178 (79.8)

85 (77.3)

93 (82.3)

0.348

BALF GM >0.5 in IPA patients

16 (57.1)

11 (84.6)

5 (33.3)

0.019

Quantitative cultures of BALF >104 CFU/mL in bacterial pneumonia patients

126 (70.8)

77 (90.6)

49 (52.7)

<0.001

  1. Data are expressed as median (Q1–Q3) or number (percentage). P values for comparison between urea plasma/urea BALF ≥4.2 and <4.2 groups.
  2. Abbreviations: AECOPD acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, APACHE II Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, BAL bronchoalveolar lavage, BALF bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, BMI body mass index, CAP community-acquired pneumonia, CFU colony-forming units, FiO2 fractional concentration of inspired oxygen, GM galactomannan, HAP hospital acquired pneumonia, IPA invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, PaO2 partial pressure of arterial oxygen, RM recruitment maneuver, VAP ventilator-associated pneumonia.