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

Table 6 Heat stroke patient characteristics according to the time of onset of gastrointestinal symptoms

	GI symptoms1		P value
	On admission (n = 68)	Developed in ICU stay (n = 64)
Characteristic
Age, median (IQR), yr	67.0 (57.0-76.0)	70.0 (64.0-80.0)	0.050
Female sex, n (%)	28 (41.2)	32 (50.0)	0.310
BMI, median (IQR), kg/m2	22.7 (20.2-24.8)	21.1 (20.0-23.3)	0.050
GCS score at ICU admission, median (IQR)	5.0 (3.0-8.0)	5.0 (3.0-7.0)	0.814
NRS score at ICU admission, median (IQR)	3.0 (3.0-4.5)	4.0 (3.0-6.0)	0.009
Fever on admission
Patients, n (%)	68 (100.0)	64 (100.0)	—
Temperature, median (IQR), °C	41.0 (40.0-42.0)	41.0 (40.0-41.3)	0.265
Complaints and symptoms on admission, n (%)
Fever	54 (79.4)	39 (60.9)	0.020
Altered mental state or behavior	25 (36.8)	30 (46.9)	0.239
Dry skin or excessive sweating	13 (19.1)	7 (109)	0.190
Rubefaction	5 (7.4)	6 (9.4)	0.674
Fast pulse	27 (39.7)	13 (20.3)	0.015
Polypnea	24 (35.3)	14 (21.9)	0.089
Headache	1 (1.5)	2 (3.1)	0.524
Syncope	49 (72.1)	36 (56.2)	0.058
Other	20 (29.4)	7 (109)	0.009
Coexisting disorder, n (%)
Diabetes	1 (1.5)	9 (14.1)	0.009
Hypertension	15 (22.1)	21 (32.8)	0.166
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	11 (16.2)	10 (15.6)	0.931
Chronic cardiac insufficiency	5 (7.4)	11 (17.2)	0.084
Hepatitis B infection	1 (1.5)	0 (0.0)	0.330
Cancer	1 (1.5)	2 (3.1)	0.524
Chronic renal disease	0 (0.0)	2 (3.1)	0.142
Immunodeficiency	1 (1.5)	2 (3.1)	0.524
Laboratory findings
PaO2/FiO2 ratio	240.0 (141.8-316.0)	217.0 (165.0-285.8)	0.775
White-cell count, 109/L	12.1 (7.8-16.2)	11.8 (8.2-14.2)	0.667
Lymphocyte count, 109/L	2.1 (1.0-3.3)	1.2 (0.6-2.0)	0.023
Platelet count, 109/L	90.0 (60.5-120.3)	98.5 (67.8-150.5)	0.256
Hemoglobin, g/L	126.0 (112.0-135.5)	118.5 (103.5-137.5)	0.106
Albumin, g/L	36.5 (33.3-40.0)	35.0 (32.1-38.6)	0.093
Other findings, median (IQR)
C-reactive protein, mg/L	5.0 (0.5-10.0)	5.0 (1.0-14.9)	0.605
Procalcitonin, ng/mL	1.4 (0.4-8.2)	9.3 (2.2-29.3)	0.055
Lactate dehydrogenase, U/L	465.0 (314.3-810.3)	382.5 (282.8-537.8)	0.263
Aspartate aminotransferase, U/L	123.9 (58.3-272.3)	107.2 (44.0-268.3)	0.152
Alanine aminotransferase, U/L	46.5 (26.2-112.4)	48.0 (27.1-89.5)	0.247
Total bilirubin, μmol/L	18.5 (12.8-25.9)	15.6 (10.1-23.0)	0.211
CK-Mb, U/L	10.1 (2.9-33.1)	8.7 (3.3-41.0)	0.214
Creatinine, μmol/L	131.1 (105.3-182.8)	137.0 (97.5-171.0)	0.628
D-dimer, mg/L	3.9 (2.5-11.5)	4.6 (1.9-12.7)	0.524
Minerals, median (IQR), mmol/L
Sodium	132.0 (129.0-137.0)	133.9 (128.5-136.8)	0.959
Potassium	3.3 (3.0-3.9)	3.5 (2.9-3.8)	0.849
Lactate	4.2 (3.1-5.5)	3.6 (2.4-5.3)	0.649
Complication, n (%)
Disturbance of water and electrolyte	51 (75.0)	44 (68.8)	0.424
Rhabdomyolysis	21 (30.9)	13 (20.3)	0.165
Myocardial damage	40 (58.8)	30 (46.9)	0.122
Disseminated intravascular coagulation	38 (55.9)	24 (37.5)	0.034
Acute respiratory distress syndrome	39 (57.4)	27 (42.2)	0.082
Acute kidney injury	45 (66.2)	38 (59.4)	0.419
Acute liver function impairment	41 (60.3)	40 (62.5)	0.795
Central nervous system damage	42 (61.8)	30 (46.9)	0.086
Clinical outcomes at data cutoff, n (%)
Hospital discharge	35 (51.5)	29 (45.3)	0.479
Death	17 (25.0)	9 (14.1)	0.114
Still hospitalization	13 (19.1)	20 (31.3)	0.108
Transferred to another hospital	3 (4.4)	6 (9.4)	0.258

¹Nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, or bloody stools are defined as gastrointestinal symptoms.

IQR: Interquartile range; CK-Mb: Creatine kinase; GI: Gastrointestinal; ICU: Intensive care unit; BMI: Body mass index.