Trial findings
| Variable | Antioxidant | Placebo | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSH/GSSG ratio, glutathione/glutathione disulphide ratio; ITU, intensive care unit; HDU, high dependency unit. | |||
| *Fisher’s exact test (two sided). | |||
| †Mann-Whitney U test. | |||
| ‡Unpaired two sample Student t test. | |||
| ¶χ2 test (2 × k) without trend. | |||
| §21 patients contributed laboratory marker values in the antioxidant group. | |||
| Organ dysfunction (day 7) | |||
| Number of subjects | 22 | 21 | |
| Organ dysfunction (%)* | 7 (32) | 4 (19) | 0.33 |
| MODS (IQR)† | 1.54 (3.26) | 0.38 (0.86) | 0.07 |
| APACHE (SD)‡ | 5.73 (3.28) | 5.33 (1.06) | 0.60 |
| Target organ dysfunction (day 7) | |||
| Renal dysfunction (%)† | 11 (50) | 7 (33) | 0.36 |
| Respiratory dysfunction (%)† | 15 (68) | 8 (38) | 0.069 |
| Laboratory markers (change from day 0 to day 7)§ | |||
| Serum ascorbic acid‡ | 2.89 (11.7) | −0.22 (4.40) | 0.27 |
| Serum selenium‡ | 4.30 (45.0) | −8.52 (28.3) | 0.28 |
| GSH/GSSG ratio‡ | −2.77 (12.5) | −0.65 (7.75) | 0.51 |
| Serum C reactive protein‡ | −76.8 (111) | −93.6 (99.9) | 0.61 |
| Level of care | |||
| Length of stay (days)‡ | 20.4 (24.4) | 14.3 (15.7) | 0.34 |
| Days in ITU‡ | 4.0 (10.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.084 |
| Days in HDU‡ | 2.0 (3.7) | 0.4 (1.2) | 0.076 |
| Days in normal care‡ | 14.4 (20.9) | 13.9 (15.7) | 0.93 |
| Patient outcomes | |||
| All cause mortality† | 4 (18.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.108 |
| Discharge destination¶ | 0.144 | ||
| Home | 14(63.6%) | 17 (81.0%) | |
| Care home | 3 (13.6%) | 4 (19%) | |
| Other hospital | 1(4.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
| Dead | 4 (18.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | |