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Table 1 Patient characteristics

From: Risk factors for late defecation and its association with the outcomes of critically ill patients: a retrospective observational study

 

Early defecation group

Late defecation group

P value

(n = 186)

(n = 96)

Age, years

68

(59–78)

70

(54–80)

0.96

Male, n (%)

107

(58)

51

(53)

0.48

BMI, kg/m2

21

(19–24)

22

(20–24)

0.34

Physiological and laboratory findings on admission

 Body temperature, °C

36.5

(36.0–37.2)

36.5

(35.8–36.9)

0.22

 WBC count, ×1000/μL

11

(8–16)

11

(8–15)

0.87

 Serum CRP, mg/dL

0.7

(0.1–6.0)

0.2

(0.1–0.7)

0.003

 APACHE II score

13

(9–21)

16

(9–21)

0.67

 SOFA score

4

(2–6)

4

(2–5)

0.14

Diagnosis on admission, n (%)

    

0.079

 Cardiovascular disease

37

(20)

21

(22)

 

 Neurological disorder or stroke

60

(32)

46

(48)

 

 Infection

27

(15)

6

(6)

 

 External causes (e.g., trauma, intoxication, burn)

33

(18)

13

(14)

 

 Post cardiac arrest

11

(6)

4

(4)

 

 Others

18

(10)

6

(6)

 

Time (days) from admission to the:

 First defecation

3

(2–4)

7

(6–8)

<0.001

 First intervention to promote elimination

3

(2–4)

6

(4–7)

<0.001

 Initiation of enteral nutrition

2

(2–3)

3

(3–5)

<0.001

Mechanical ventilation, n (%)

75

(40)

59

(61)

0.001

Sedative use, n (%)

73

(39)

71

(74)

<0.001

Fentanyl use, n (%)

24

(13)

28

(29)

0.001

Vasopressor use, n (%)

49

(26)

26

(27)

0.89

Surgery, n (%)

34

(18)

41

(43)

<0.001

Type of surgery, n (%)

    

0.26

 Neurological

25

(74)

35

(85)

 

 Cardiovascular

1

(3)

2

(5)

 

 Orthopedic

5

(15)

1

(2)

 

 Debridement of skin and subcutaneous tissue

3

(9)

2

(5)

 

 Others

0

(0)

1

(2)

 
  1. All data are presented as the median (interquartile range) or n (%)
  2. BMI body mass index, WBC white blood cell, CRP C-reactive protein, APACHE II Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (second revision), SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessment