Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the cohort of n=267 chronically critically ill patients who have been assessed using the CAM-ICU and were compared with dropped out patients at t0
| Characteristic | Cohort n=267 | Drop outs (t0) n=60 | U/χ² | P value |
| Age, yrs median (IQR) | 61.6 (55.9–66.6) | 60.5 (53.7–65.4) | 7490.500 | 0.432 (U)† |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 193 (72.3) | 44 (73.3) | ||
| Female | 74 (27.7) | 16 (26.7) | 0.027 | 0.869 (χ²)‡ |
| Family status, n (%)§ | ||||
| Single | 28 (10.7) | 7 (13.7) | ||
| Married/Cohabited | 179 (68.3) | 38 (74.5) | ||
| Divorced/Living apart | 42 (16.0) | 5 (9.8) | ||
| Widowed | 13 (5.0) | 1 (2.0) | 2.550 | 0.466 (χ²)‡ |
| Education, n (%)¶ | ||||
| <10 years | 96 (41.2) | 10 (43.5) | ||
| ≥10 years | 137 (58.8) | 13 (56.5) | 0.045 | 0.833 (χ²)‡ |
| ICU stay, days median (IQR) | 73.0 (52.0–105.0) | 71.0 (46.3–123.0) | 7939.000 | 0.915 (U)† |
| Mechanical ventilation, days median (IQR) | 53.0 (33.0–77.0) | 56.5 (36.8–93.8) | 7425.000 | 0.377 (U)† |
| ICU stay in acute-care ICU, days median (IQR) | 35.0 (25.0–54.0) | 42.5 (27.0–75.0) | 6656.500 | 0.041* (U)† |
| Mechanical ventilation in acute-care ICU, days median (IQR) | 31.0 (19.0–46.0) | 36.5 (25.0–69.0) | 5992.500 | 0.002** (U)† |
| Sepsis, n (%) | ||||
| No sepsis | 79 (29.6) | 12 (20.0) | ||
| Sepsis | 107 (40.1) | 20 (33.3) | ||
| Severe sepsis or septic shock | 81 (30.3) | 28 (46.7) | 6.111 | 0.047* (χ²)‡ |
| Site of infection, n (%) | ||||
| Respiratory** | 140 (52.4) | |||
| Urinary/Genitals** | 25 (9.4) | |||
| Abdominal** | 20 (7.5) | |||
| Bones/Soft tissue** | 13 (4.9) | |||
| Wound infection** | 6 (2.2) | |||
| Heart** | 5 (1.9) | |||
| Multiple** | 28 (10.5) | |||
| Others**†† | 23 (8.6) | |||
| Unknown | 21 (7.9) | |||
| Barthel index, median (IQR) | ||||
| At admission at postacute ICU | −200.0 (−225.0–−140.0) | −200.0 (−225.0–−138.8) | 7283.000 | 0.264 (U)† |
| At discharge from postacute ICU, median (IQR) | −60.0 (−140.0–0.0) | −157.5 (−225.0–−35.0) | 4797.000 | <0.001*** (U)† |
| At discharge from rehabilitation hospital, median (IQR) | 40.0 (−50.0–75.0) | −147.5 (−225.0–38.8) | 4225.000 | <0.001*** (U)† |
| MFI subscales, t2/t3 median (IQR) | ||||
| General fatigue | 12.0 (9.0–15.0)/12.0 (9.0–14.0) | |||
| Physical fatigue | 13.0 (11.0–16.0)/13.0 (11.0–16.0) | |||
| Reduced motivation | 9.0 (6.0–11.0)/8.0 (6.0–11.0) | |||
| Reduced activity | 12.0 (9.0–16.5)/13.0 (10.0–16.0) | |||
| Mental fatigue | 8.0 (4.0–11.0)/8.0 (5.0–11.0) | |||
| EQ-5D-3L, t2/t3 median (IQR) | 70.0 (55.0–80.0)/70.0 (50.0–80.0) |
*P≤0.05, **p≤0.01, ***p≤0.001.
†P value from Mann-Whitney U test.
‡P value from χ² test.
§Cohort: n=5 missing values, drop outs: n=9 missing values.
¶Cohort: n=34 missing values, drop outs: n=37 missing values.
**Cohort: n=1 missing value.
††Cohort: n=1 aorta, n=1 brain, n=1 nose, n=2 intracardiac catheter, n=16 central venous catheter, n=2 port system.
EQ-5D-3L, Euro-Quality of Life; MFI, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory.