Gastrointestinal manifestations of critical ill heatstroke patients and their associations with outcomes: A multicentre, retrospective, observational study

Table 3 Characteristics of the heatstroke patients with endotracheal intubation, according to received enteral nutrition within 48 h after intensive care unit admission or not¹

	All intubated patients (n = 439)	EN therapy whether ≤ 48 h		P value
		Yes (n = 139)	No (n = 300)
Characteristic
Age, median (IQR), yr	71.0 (63.0-80.0)	72.0 (63.0-80.0)	71.0 (63.0-79.0)	0.801
Female sex, n (%)	197 (44.9)	62 (46.8)	135 (43.6)	0.938
GCS score at ICU admission, median (IQR)	4.0 (3.0-5.0)	5.0 (3.0-7.0)	4.0 (3.0-5 .0)	0.002
NRS score at ICU admission, median (IQR)	4.0 (3.0-5.0)	5.0 (4.0-6.0)	4.0 (3.0-5.0)	0.017
Body temperature on admission
Patients, n (%)	439 (100.0)	139 (100.0)	300 (100.0)	—
Temperature, median (IQR), °C	41.0 (40.0-41.8)	41.0 (40.0-41.5)	41.0 (40.0-42.0)	0.154
Laboratory findings, median (IQR)
PaO2/FiO2 ratio	225.0 (135.5-306.5)	226.0 (164.0-287.0)	223.0 (128.0-316.0)	0.825
White-cell count, 109/L	11.7 (8.1-15.6)	12.4 (8.6-16.8)	11.3 (8.0-15.0)	0.290
Lymphocyte count, 109/L	1.7 (0.8-2.8)	1.5 (0.7-2.3)	1.9 (0.9-3.0)	0.105
Platelet count, 109/L	92.0 (56.0-138.0)	101.0 (66.8-147.3)	88.0 (54.0-130.0)	0.039
Hemoglobin, g/L	124.0 (109.0-139.0)	122.0 (109.0-136.0)	124.5 (109.0-140.0)	0.311
Albumin, g/L	35.3 (32.5-38.9)	35.1 (32.0-38.5)	35.4 (32.5-39.0)	0.544
GI symptoms2, n (%)
Total patients	85 (19.4)	18 (12.9)	67 (22.3)	0.021
Diarrhea	60 (13.7)	13 (9.4)	47 (15.7)	0.073
Flatulence	25 (5.7)	7 (5.0)	18 (6.0)	0.685
Nausea/vomiting	14 (3.2)	7 (5.0)	7 (2.3)	0.134
Bloody stools	8 (1.8)	0 (0.0)	8 (2.6)	0.052
Complications, n (%)
Disturbance of water and electrolyte	271 (61.7)	79 (56.8)	192 (64.0)	0.151
Rhabdomyolysis	81 (18.5)	20 (11.6)	61 (20.3)	0.135
Myocardial damage	216 (49.2)	65 (46.8)	151 (50.3)	0.486
Disseminated intravascular coagulation	172 (39.2)	50 (36.0)	122 (40.7)	0.349
Acute respiratory distress syndrome	226 (51.5)	74 (53.2)	152 (50.7)	0.616
Acute kidney injury	233 (53.1)	66 (47.5)	167 (55.7)	0.110
Acute liver function impairment	332 (75.6)	74 (53.2)	258 (86.0)	< 0.001
Central nervous system damage	206 (46.9)	62 (44.6)	144 (48.0)	0.507
Treatments
Use of continuous renal-replacement therapy, n (%)	34 (7.7)	10 (8.1)	20 (7.5)	0.826
Length of ICU stay, median (IQR), d	2.0 (1.0-3.0)	2.0 (1.0-3.0)	3.0 (2.0-5.0)	< 0.001
Clinical outcomes at data cutoff, n (%)
Hospital discharge	210 (47.8)	68 (48.9)	142 (47.3)	0.757
Death	123 (28.0)	24 (17.3)	99 (33.3)	< 0.001
Still hospitalization	78 (17.8)	36 (25.9)	42 (14.0)	0.002
Transferred to another hospital	28 (6.4)	11 (7.9)	17 (5.7)	0.370

¹The denominators of patients who were included in the analysis are provided if they differed from the overall numbers in the group. Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding.

²Nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, or bloody stools are defined as gastrointestinal symptoms.

IQR: Interquartile range; GCS: Glasgow coma scale; NRS: Nutrition risk screening; GI: Gastrointestinal; ICU: Intensive care unit.