Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients
Characteristic | Overall (n = 1,539) | Short corticosteroids (n = 412) | Prolonged corticosteroids (n = 1,127) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
All hospitalized patients (n = 1539) | ||||
Demographics | ||||
Age (years) | 59 ± 15 | 61 ± 15 | 59 ± 14 | 0.008 |
Men (n, %) | 837 (54.4) | 221 (53.6) | 616 (54.7) | 0.766 |
Need for ICU at any time (n, %) | 1,364 (88.6) | 338 (82) | 1,026 (91) | < 0.001 |
Use of corticosteroids | ||||
Maximum MED (mg) | 46 (32–80) | 32 (32–36) | 56 (36–96) | < 0.001 |
Total length of corticosteroids use (days) | 15 (10–24) | 9 (7–10) | 19 (14–28) | < 0.001 |
Biochemical measurements | ||||
CRP (mg/dL) | 121 (62–199) | 114 (56–188) | 125 (67–206) | 0.014 |
LDH (U/L) | 481 (337–642) | 455 (311–599) | 491 (339–663) | 0.024 |
D-dimer (mg/L) | 1.9 (0.9–5.5) | 1.9 (0.9–5.3) | 1.9 (0.9–5.6) | 0.869 |
Overall (n = 622) | Short corticosteroids (n = 163) | Prolonged corticosteroids (n = 459) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Critically ill patients (n = 622) | ||||
Demographic | ||||
Age (years old) | 57 ± 14 | 57 ± 15 | 57 ± 14 | 0.748 |
Men (n, %) | 347 (55.8) | 90 (55.2) | 257 (56) | 0.936 |
Use of corticosteroids | ||||
Maximum MED (mg) | 53 (2.5–90) | 32 (32–40) | 64 (40–100) | < 0.001 |
Total duration of corticosteroid use (days) | 15 (10–26) | 9 (7–10) | 20 (14–30) | < 0.001 |
Time from hospital admission to initiation of corticosteroids (days) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–0) | < 0.001 |
Biochemical measurements | ||||
CRP (mg/dL) | 139 (83–219) | 127 (75–197) | 145 (84–229) | 0.066 |
LDH (U/L) | 553 (415–729) | 527 (450–647) | 562 (412–757) | 0.315 |
D-dimer (mg/L) | 2.3 (1.1–8.7) | 2.3 (1.2–10.4) | 2.3 (1.1–7.6) | 0.376 |