More skilled clinical management of COVID-19 patients modified mortality in an intermediate respiratory intensive care unit in Italy

Table 1 Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, therapeutic approaches and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in an intermediate Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) subdivided in two groups T1 and T2 according to the admission date (before and after March 29, 2020)

	T1 group	T2 group	P = / <
N	46 patients	41 patients
Sex (women/men)	12/34 (73.9% men)	11/30 (73.2% men)	0.87**
Age (years)	69.8 ± DS 13.5	68.4 ± DS 15.8	0.66*
Patients with medical chronic conditions (> 1)	45.3%	54.7%	0.51**
Therapy
Lopinavir-ritonavir	96.9%	2.1%	< 0.01**
Dexamethasone	26.1%	73.9%	< 0.01**
Azithromycin	83.3%	90.6%	0.49**
Hydroxychlorochine	78.9%	92.1%	0.15**
NAC	77.7%	70.96%	0.64**
Tocilizumab	9.5%	3.12%	0.44**
Enoxaparin	43.1%	56.9%	0.19**
PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio	192 ± 77.2	198 ± 86.9	0.73*
Non-invasive respiratory support at admission
HFNC	26.2%	15.8%	0.021/*
CPAP	36.0%	65.0%
BPAP	37.8%	19.2%
Clinical outcomes
Transferred to ICU	32.6%	22%	0.39**
Dead in ICU	100%	33.3%	0.005**
Dead in the intermediate RICU	19.6%	9.76%	0.33**
Transferred to GW	43.48%	21.95%	0.06**
Still hospitalized in intermediate RICU	4.35%	46.34%	0.001**

Data are showed as mean ± standard deviation for continuous and as percentage (%) for categorical variables
NAC: N acetyl cysteine; Pa02/FiO2: arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen; HFNC: high-flow nasal cannula; CPAP: continuous positive airway pressure; BPAP: bilevel positive airway pressure; ICU: Intensive Care Unit; GW: general ward
^*Student t test for independent data
^**Pearson Chi squared test
^***The only comparisons between CPAP and the other non-invasive respiratory supports and between BPAP and the other non-invasive respiratory supports across time were significantly different (Bonferroni Inequality adjustment p < 0.05)

ISSN: 1465-993X