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

Table 7 Heat stroke patient characteristics according to the time of onset of gastrointestinal symptoms¹

	Early onset, n = 41	Late onset, n = 23	P value
Characteristic2
Age, median (IQR), yr	69.0 (62.3-79.0)	64.0 (56.0-76.0)	0.856
Female sex, n (%)	23 (56.1)	8 (34.8)	0.102
Fever on admission
Patients, n (%)	41 (100.0)	23 (100.0)	—
Temperature, median (IQR), °C	41.0 (40.0-42.0)	40.7 (39.6-41.3)	0.338
Body temperature on admission, n (%)
Fever	23 (56.1)	15 (65.2)	0.475
Altered mental state or behavior	19 (46.3)	11 (47.8)	0.909
Dry skin or excessive sweating	4 (9.8)	3 (13.0)	0.686
Rubefaction	4 (9.8)	2 (8.7)	0.889
Fast pulse	11 (26.8)	2 (8.7)	0.084
Polypnea	9 (22.0)	5 (21.7)	0.984
Headache	2 (4.9)	0 (0.0)	0.282
Syncope	21 (51.2)	13 (56.5)	0.683
Other	3 (7.3)	4 (17.4)	0.215
EN support
EN, n (%)	29 (70.7)	22 (95.7)	< 0.001
Average EN calorie, median (IQR), kcal/d	752.0 (500.0-1007.5)	1292.0 (750.0-1560.0)	< 0.001
Average EN protein, median (IQR), g/d	20.0 (17.6-32.5)	28.0 (15.0-57.0)	0.003
Average EN volume, median (IQR), ml/d	600.0 (147.5-1000.0)	900.0 (461.2-1500.0)	< 0.001
Duration of EN, median (IQR), d	3.0 (1.8-5.0)	7.0 (4.0-11.0)	0.011
Laboratory findings, median (IQR)
White-cell count, 109/L	10.6 (7.8-13.5)	13.5 (8.6-15.8)	0.351
Hemoglobin, g/L	117.0 (106.0-128.0)	128.5 (105.3-141.5)	0.187
Albumin, g/L	35.4 (33.7-39.2)	34.4 (30.8-36.8)	0.239
Complications, n (%)
Disturbance of water and electrolyte	26 (63.4)	17 (73.9)	0.391
Rhabdomyolysis	6 (14.6)	6 (26.1)	0.261
Hemorrhage of digestive tract	8 (19.5)	3 (13.1)	0.511
Myocardial damage	17 (41.5)	12 (52.2)	0.409
Disseminated intravascular coagulation	14 (34.1)	9 (39.1)	0.691
Acute respiratory distress syndrome	17 (41.5)	6 (26.1)	0.855
Clinical outcomes at data cutoff, n (%)
Hospital discharge	17 (41.5)	11 (47.8)	0.622
Death	7 (17.1)	2 (8.7)	0.355
Still hospitalization	12 (29.3)	8 (34.8)	0.648
Transferred to another hospital	4 (9.8)	2 (8.7)	0.889

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

²The 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.

IQR: Interquartile range; EN: Enteral nutrition.