Intensive care management of patients with SSc, including in-hospital survivors and those who died. Data were available for all 41 patients. Values are n (%) or median (IQR) unless otherwise specified.
| Variable | All Patients, n = 41 | Survived, n = 25 | Died, n = 16 | p* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time from hospital to ICU admission, days | 1 (0–4) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–11) | 0.58 |
| Reasons for ICU admission | 0.42 | |||
| Acute respiratory failure | 27 (65.8) | 16 (64) | 11 (68.7) | |
| Acute renal failure | 6 (14.6) | 5 (20) | 1 (6.2) | |
| Others | 8 (19.5) | 4 (16) | 4 (25) | |
| Main diagnosis | 0.07 | |||
| Pulmonary infection** | 14 (34.1) | 7 (28) | 7 (43.7) | |
| Cardiovascular complications† | 8 (19.5) | 3 (12) | 5 (31.2) | |
| Scleroderma renal crisis | 7 (17) | 5 (20) | 2 (12.5) | |
| Others‡ | 12 (29.2) | 10 (40) | 2 (12.5) | |
| Admission characteristics | ||||
| Mean arterial pressure | 88 (77–104) | 92 (81–105) | 79 (71–98) | 0.03 |
| Glasgow coma scale | 15 (15–15) | 15 (15–15) | 14 (7–15) | 0.01 |
| Serum protein level, g/l | 69 (59–73) | 70 (63–76) | 59 (52–68) | 0.002 |
| Serum creatinine level, µmol/l | 88 (56–160) | 72 (52–204) | 101 (90–170) | 0.10 |
| Serum bilirubin level, µmol/l | 7.5 (4–11.7) | 6 (3–9) | 12 (5–27) | 0.007 |
| Admission severity scores | ||||
| SAPS2, points | 38 (23–53) | 26 (22–36) | 55 (41–89) | < 0.001 |
| SOFA, points | 4 (4–7) | 4 (2–5) | 7 (5–11) | < 0.001 |
| Life-sustaining interventions | ||||
| Noninvasive ventilation | 13 (31.7) | 6 (24) | 7 (43.7) | 0.30 |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | 13 (31.7) | 2 (8) | 11 (68.7) | < 0.001 |
| Vasopressors | 13 (31.7) | 1 (4) | 12 (75) | < 0.001 |
| Renal replacement therapy | 12 (29.2) | 3 (12) | 9 (56.2) | 0.002 |
| In-ICU length of stay, days | 3 (2–7) | 2 (2–3) | 5 (3–11) | 0.005 |
↵* Comparisons were made between survivors and those who died.
↵** Microbiological documentation in 5 patients: Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 2), Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 1), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 1), Pneumocystis jirovecii (n = 1).
↵† Cardiovascular complications: acute pulmonary edema (2), myocarditis (2), pulmonary embolism (2), out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (1), acute right ventricular failure (1).
↵‡ Others: acute respiratory failure without any definite diagnosis (5), drug-induced pneumonitis (1), DRESS syndrome (1), meningeal hemorrhage (1), acute cytolytic hepatitis (1), pneumothorax (1). SSc: systemic sclerosis; IQR: interquartile range; ICU: intensive care unit; SAPS2: Simplified Acute Physiology Score 2; SOFA: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; DRESS: Drug Reaction with Eosinophila and Systemic Symptoms.