Demographic data and clinical characteristics for patients with ALS with a tracheotomy performed during an acute episode and those with a non-urgent tracheotomy
| Acute (n=21) | Non-acute (n=17) | p Value | |
| Sex (M/F) | 8/13 | 8/9 | 0.578 |
| Age (years) | 63.52±10.55 | 66.88±6.92 | 0.267 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.17±3.28 | 23.76±2.77 | 0.052 |
| Spinal/bulbar onset | 11/10 | 8/9 | 0.744 |
| Time from ALS onset to tracheotomy (months) | 42.26±47.95 | 39.75±26.02 | 0.875 |
| ALSFRS-R | 10.95±3.91 | 11.11±4.32 | 0.902 |
| NBS | 11.76±8.41 | 10.59±9.09 | 0.682 |
| FVC (l) | 1.01±0.59 | 0.96±0.44 | 0.794 |
| %FVC (%) | 38.47±19.77 | 41.20±19.12 | 0.695 |
| MIC (l) | 1.16±0.72 | 1.37±0.58 | 0.373 |
| PCF (l/s) | 1.89±1.00 | 2.40±1.12 | 0.187 |
| PCFMIC (l/s) | 2.15±1.22 | 2.70±1.15 | 0.206 |
| PCFMI-E (l/s) | 2.77±0.87 | 3.51±1.17 | 0.058 |
| PImax (cm H2O) | −29.28±16.44 | −27.78±16.11 | 0.809 |
| PEmax (cm H2O) | 42.57±27.87 | 45.71±23.38 | 0.749 |
| Home NIV prior to tracheotomy (Y/N) | 11/10 | 5/12 | 0.154 |
| Home MAC prior to tracheotomy (Y/N) | 13/8 | 8/9 | 0.360 |
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; FVC, forced vital capacity; %FVC, predicted FVC; MAC, mechanically assisted cough; MIC, maximum insufflation capacity; NBS, Norris bulbar subscore; NIV, non-invasive ventilation; PCF, peak cough flow; PCFMIC, manually assisted PCF; PCFMI-E, mechanically assisted PCF; PEmax, maximum expiratory pressure; PImax, maximum inspiratory pressure.