Table 1 Characteristics of ARDS and at risk from pulmonary insult patients included in the study
Variable | Total cohort (N = 148) | No glucocorticoids (N = 81) | Glucocorticoids (N = 67) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic demographics | ||||
 Age, years | 56.2 (45.4-66.8) | 57 (43.9–65.8) | 55.9 (47.9–68.1) | 0.604 |
 Body mass index | 29.4 (25.1–35.8) | 30.6 (25.7–35.9) | 29 (22.9–34.9) | 0.097 |
 Female | 66 (45%) | 26 (32%) | 40 (60%) | 0.001 |
 Caucasian | 136 (92%) | 76 (94%) | 60 (90%) | 0.282 |
Comorbidities | ||||
 Diabetes mellitus | 47 (32%) | 27 (33%) | 20 (30%) | 0.724 |
 Chronic obstructive lung disease | 34 (23%) | 17 (21%) | 17 (25%) | 0.56 |
 Congestive cardiac failure | 21 (14%) | 8 (10%) | 13 (19%) | 0.154 |
 Chronic renal failure | 20 (14%) | 7 (9%) | 13 (19%) | 0.089 |
 Immunosuppression | 24 (16%) | 5 (6%) | 19 (28%) |  < 0.001 |
 Chronic liver disease | 11 (7%) | 8 (10%) | 3 (5%) | 0.346 |
 Pulmonary fibrosis | 5 (3%) | 1 (1%) | 4 (6%) | 0.176 |
Laboratory findings | ||||
 Creatine, mg/dL | 1.4 (0.75–2.5) | 1.3 (0.7–2.1) | 1.6 (0.9–2.6) | 0.191 |
 Bicarbonate, mMol/L | 24 (21–26.5) | 24 (21–27) | 24 (20–26) | 0.464 |
 Glucose, mg/dL | 134 (104–167) | 123 (102–149) | 140 (118–180) | 0.011 |
 White blood cells, × 109/L | 11.8 (8–17.2) | 13.3 (8.1–16.9) | 11.6 (7.4–18.3) | 0.662 |
 Hemoglobin, gm/dL | 10.4 (9–12.3) | 10.7 (9.2–12.7) | 10.1 (9–11.8) | 0.180 |
 Platelets, × 109/L | 176 (123–244) | 181 (128–250) | 154 (111–235) | 0.078 |
Ventilator parameters | ||||
 Tidal volume, mL/kg | 6.7 (6–7.9) | 6.8 (6–8) | 6.6 (6–7.8) | 0.392 |
 Positive end expiratory pressure, cm H2O | 8 (5–10) | 8 (5–10) | 8 (5–12) | 0.299 |
 Plateau pressure, cm H2O | 25 (19–28) | 24 (17–28) | 27 (21–29) | 0.029 |
Severity of illness | ||||
 SOFA score | 7 (5–9) | 6.5 (5–8.5) | 8 (5–10) | 0.057 |
 Acute kidney injury on presentation | 73 (49.3%) | 36 (44.4%) | 37 (55.2%) | 0.248 |
 Sepsis on presentation | 123 (83%) | 64 (79%) | 59 (88%) | 0.187 |
Baseline markers of the systemic host immune response | ||||
 Angiopoetin-2 | 9439 (4924–18,646) | 8872 (5333–16,341) | 10,036 (4321–22,186) | 0.629 |
 Interleukin-8 | 23 (13–43) | 22 (13–39) | 25 (13–49) | 0.225 |
 Interleukin-6 | 75 (27–232) | 83 (33–200) | 58 (19–422) | 0.474 |
 Procalcitonin | 1005 (352–4150) | 817 (220–3588) | 1232 (507–4510) | 0.110 |
 Suppressor of tumorigenicity-2 | 205,130 (81,454–605,552) | 131,909 (68,841–489,845) | 270,336 (125,738–740,787) | 0.006 |
 Fractalkine | 1869 (913–2742) | 1210 (797–2157) | 2350 (1548–3523) |  < 0.001 |
 Interleukin-10 | 1.3 (0–8.9) | 0.8 (0–6.6) | 2.9 (0–18.1) | 0.031 |
 Pentraxin-3 | 6418 (2514–14,119) | 4571 (2235–9759) | 10,147 (2607–22064) | 0.017 |
 Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products | 4422 (2306–8544) | 3393 (2279–7288) | 5446 (3038–10,697) | 0.024 |
 Tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 | 4576 (2699–8328) | 4031 (2632–5796) | 5417 (2890–11962) | 0.013 |