All patients | Refused tracheotomy | Agreed to tracheotomy | p Value | |
Sex (M/F) | 30/46 | 14/24 | 16/22 | 0.639 |
Age (years) | 66.00±9.18 | 66.97±9.22 | 65.03±9.15 | 0.359 |
BMI (kg/m2) | 25.48±3.67 | 25.46±3.91 | 25.51±3.46 | 0.057 |
Spinal/bulbar onset | 42/34 | 23/15 | 19/19 | 0.356 |
Time from ALS onset to tracheotomy (months) | 37.97±32.11 | 35.26±20.58 | 41.29±42.36 | 0.442 |
ALSFRS-R | 11.63±3.85 | 11.02±4.05 | 12.21±3.11 | 0.910 |
NBS | 11.10±8.70 | 11.24±8.62 | 10.38±9.01 | 0.693 |
FVC (l) | 1.01±0.51 | 1.03±0.50 | 0.99±0.52 | 0.745 |
%FVC (%) | 39.53±18.46 | 39.28±17.93 | 39.75±19.20 | 0.924 |
MIC (l) | 1.28±0.63 | 1.31±0.61 | 1.26±0.66 | 0.743 |
PCF (l/s) | 2.24±1.06 | 2.37±1.06 | 2.13±1.07 | 0.381 |
PCFMIC (l/s) | 2.55±1.17 | 2.71±1.13 | 2.40±1.20 | 0.320 |
PCFMI-E (l/s) | 3.13±0.89 | 3.15±0.64 | 3.12±1.07 | 0.890 |
PImax (cm H2O) | −32.09±17.46 | −36.08±18.47 | −28.53±15.99 | 0.117 |
PEmax (cm H2O) | 44.33±23.09 | 44.53±22.81 | 44.14±25.29 | 0.952 |
Data are expressed as means±SD for continuous variables and number for categorical variables.
ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALSFRS-R, revised amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale; BMI, body mass index; MIC, maximum insufflation capacity; FVC, forced vital capacity; %FVC, predicted FVC; NBS, Norris bulbar subscore; PCF, peak cough flow; PCFMIC, manually assisted PCF; PCFMI-E, mechanically assisted PCF; PEmax, maximum expiratory pressure; PImax, maximum inspiratory pressure.