One severity classification was selected per study.
This reflects an improvement of about one severity grade.
First, to evaluate the diagnostic value of day 0 routine biochemical variable levels for the maximum ARDS severity within one week after inclusion, we calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and associated statistical predictive variables, such as optimal cutoff values, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values.
To minimize confounding of biomarker associations with ARDS by clinical variables, such as severity of illness, cases and controls were one-to-one matched for severity of illness (APACHE II, within one point), age (within 10 years), gender (one-to-one match) and number of non-pulmonary organ failures (within one).
Moreover, distinct differences of the disease severity between various affected members within one family or between unrelated individuals carrying the same mutation could be observed [ 7, 14].
Considering that the disease severity increased in most cases within one year of the start of corticosteroid therapy, dysfunction of the alveolar macrophages progressed in the administrated patients.
Among the patients included in the chart review sample, those with greater disease severity had a higher frequency of treatment discontinuation within one year compared with patients who had mild or moderately severe disease (68 vs. 46%; Data not shown).
We calculated the modified Charlson index to estimate the severity of disease according to previous diagnoses within one year before the index date.
For 285 of these patients, we also had Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [ 35] scores obtained within one week of the BDIs to serve as an independent measure of the severity of depression.
Only one reviewed study parametrised mortality by age, gender, and severity; others focused only on severity.
