Fig. 3

Comparison of an early or late high protein intake with a standard protein intake. Column 1: design of diet comparisons analyzing different hypothetical protein diets (pseudo-observations) (Table 1). Protein intake reflects the median of corresponding categories (standard: 0.8–1.2 g protein/kg per day; high: > 1.2 g/kg per day). Column 2 and 3: corresponding time-varying associations of different hypothetical diets with the rate of in-hospital death or live hospital discharge (cause-specific hazards). Solid lines indicate hazard ratios (HR), hatched lines indicate corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) (HRs and CIs for specific time intervals after ICU admission are presented in the Additional file 1: S6 and S7). Reference diet is that which provides fewer protein (e.g., an HR (and 95% CI) < 1 would indicate that rate of in-hospital death/live hospital discharge associated with the diet providing more protein was smaller). Please note that HRs (and corresponding 95% CIs) must be 1 for the first time interval between day 4 and 5 (due to the specification of the lag time), and also for time intervals, in which protein intake of both hypothetical diets is identical within the relevant time window that affects the hazard