Characteristics of study participants at baseline
| Intensive (n=150) | Standard care (n=158) | |
| Age (years) | 60 (16) | 64 (16) |
| Sex | ||
| Male Female | 81 (54%) 69 (46%) | 99 (63%) 59 (37%) |
| Type of admission | ||
| Emergency Planned | 134 (90%) 16 (10%) | 143 (90%) 15 (10%) |
| Specialty | ||
| Medical Surgical | 78 (52%) 72 (48%) | 82 (52%) 76 (48%) |
| APACHE II score | 19 (7) | 19 (7) |
| ICNARC Physiology Score | 22 (8) | 23 (9) |
| Premorbid Katz Index | ||
| Low score (0–3) High score (4-6) | 4 (3%) 141 (97%) | 6 (4%) 149 (96%) |
| ICU length of stay (days)* | 6 (4–9) | 5 (4–8) |
| Duration of ventilation (days)* | 4 (3–7) | 4 (3–6) |
| Mode of ventilation | ||
| Invasive Non-invasive | 148 (99%) 1 (1%) | 153 (98%) 4 (2%) |
*ICU length of stay and duration of ventilation are at time of randomisation.
Data are n (%), mean (SD) or median (IQR).
APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; ICNARC, Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre; ICU, intensive care unit.