Characteristic

Group R

Group S

Rapid EN

advancement

Slow EN

advancement

P value

N = 41

N = 24

Demographic

Age, years; median (IQR)

72.8 (64.1 - 83.0)

73.6 (61.9 - 81.0)

0.563

Sex

0.135

Female, n (%)

22 (54)

17 (71)

Male, n (%)

19 (46)

7 (29)

Height, cm; median (IQR)

160.0 (153.0 - 170.0)

162.5 (154.3 - 170.0)

0.801

Weight, kg; median (IQR)

46.5 (41.5 - 53.4)

45.0 (41.9 - 49.5)

0.719

BMI, kg/m²; median (IQR)

18.2 (16.4 - 19.2)

17.7 (16.1 - 19.1)

0.634

Clinical characteristic

APACHE II score (IQR)

21.0 (18.5 - 31.5)

22.0 (19.0 - 27.5)

0.563

Initial SOFA score (IQR)

10.0 (9.0 - 13.0)

9.0 (8.0 - 10.0)

0.029

Admission category, n (%)

0.001

Medical

28 (68)

6 (25)

Surgical

13 (32)

18 (75)

Source of admission

0.007

Emergency department

21 (51)

12 (50)

Emergency ward

7 (17)

1 (4)

Operating room

6 (15)

11 (46)

Other hospital

7 (17)

0 (0)

Primary EICU diagnosis, n (%)

0.052

Cardiovascular or vascular disorder

6 (15)

1 (4)

Respiratory disorder

7 (17)

3 (13)

Gastrointestinal disorder

0 (0)

0 (0)

Neurologic disorder

18 (44)

15 (63)

Sepsis

6 (15)

0 (0)

Trauma

0 (0)

3 (13)

Metabolic disorder

2 (5)

2 (8)

Burn

1 (2)

0 (0)

Renal disorder

1 (2)

0 (0)

Comorbidity

Charlson comorbidity index; median (IQR)

5.0 (3.5 - 6.0)

5.0 (3.0 - 5.0)

0.234

Diabetes mellitus, n (%)

4 (10)

1 (4)

0.385

Dialysis dependent renal failure, n (%)

3 (7)

0 (0)

0.244

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, n (%)

3 (7)

2 (8)

0.615

Cardiac disease, n (%)

8 (20)

2 (8)

0.201