Efficacy of Low Molecular Weight Heparin in Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Receiving Ventilatory Support

Figures & data

Table 1  Baseline characteristics of the 66 patients  according to treatment assignment

Characteristics	Control	LMWH
	(n = 33)	(n = 33)	p-Value
Age, years	66.3 ± 6.3	65.5 ± 4.5	0.56
Sex, male/female	19/14	18/15	0.80
Weight, Kg	60.3 ± 8.7	58.9 ± 5.4	0.43
Height, cm	167.0 ± 8.4	164.5 ± 6.5	0.18
Smokers, current/former	22/11	16/17	0.14
Baseline PaO2, mmHg	62.5 ± 7.4	64.2 ± 7.7	0.35
Baseline PaCO2, mmHg	91.0 ± 11.3	90.5 ± 12.9	0.85
SAPS II	36.2 ± 5.2	34.7 ± 4.7	0.22

Data are presented as mean ± SD; PaO₂, oxygen tension in arterial blood; PaCO₂, carbon dioxide tension in arterial blood.

Figure 1. Mean levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) (A), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) (B), Fibrinogen (C) and white blood cell count (WBC) (D) at selected time points after treatment. The error bars indicates standard errors. (*p < 0.05, and **p < 0.01, for comparison with control group).

Table 2.  Outcome measures 

Outcome	Control	LMWH	p-Value
	(n = 33)	(n = 33)
Duration of mechanical ventilation, d	6.6 ± 3.7	3.8 ± 2.2	0.001
NIMV	4.9 ± 1.8 (n = 22)	3.0 ± 0.9 (n = 23)	0.000
CMV	9.7 ± 4.3 (n = 11)	5.7 ± 3.1 (n = 10)	0.026
Length of ICU stay, d	8.5 ± 3.0	5.6 ± 1.8	0.000
NIMV	7.2 ± 1.8 (n = 22)	4.8 ± 0.7 (n = 23)	0.000
CMV	11.4 ± 3.1 (n = 11)	7.4 ± 2.3 (n = 10)	0.004
Length of hospital stay, d	14.3 ± 3.8	11.3 ± 2.0	0.000
NIMV	13.0 ± 3.4 (n = 22)	10.6 ± 1.7 (n = 23)	0.004
CMV	16.8 ± 3.1 (n = 22)	13.1 ± 1.7 (n = 10)	0.003
In-ICU mortality, No. (%)	4/33	3/33	0.689
NIMV	1/22 (n = 22)	1/23 (n = 23)	0.974
CMV	3/11 (n = 11)	2/10 (n = 10)	0.696
Failure of NIMV, No. (%)	5/22	3/23	0.396

Data are presented as mean ± SD unless specified otherwise. CMV, Convention mechanical ventilation; NIMV, noninvasive mechanical ventilation; ICU, intensive care unit.