| Global | Small hospitals | Medium hospitals | Large hospitals | p-value# | |
| Total eligible sites n | 425 | 140 | 145 | 140 | |
| Spirometry result available at admission % | 59.3 (46.4–90.1) | 68.0 (56.1–90.8) | 54.6 (23.7–91.9) | 58.6 (39.3–88.9) | <0.001 |
| Arterial blood gas performed at admission % | 82.4 (14–95.5) | 76.9 (15.9–95.6) | 82.2 (0–100) | 85.6 (52.2–97.7) | <0.001 |
| Chest radiograph performed at admission % | 98.6 (90.5–100) | 98.4 (94.3–100) | 98.4 (88.6–100) | 98.9 (88.1–100) | 0.040 |
| Controlled oxygen therapy used % | 84.9 (50.2–96.9) | 81.0 (51.7–100) | 85.4 (39.5–97.4) | 86.8 (64.9–100) | <0.001 |
| Short-acting bronchodilator use % | 91.1 (67.7–100) | 89.2 (76.2–100) | 90.9 (55.3–98.9) | 92.6 (68.6–100) | <0.001 |
| Non-use of i.v. methylxanthines % | 85.8 (14.2–100) | 84.4 (20.9–100) | 85.9 (16.3–100) | 86.5 (6.3–100) | 0.030 |
| Systemic corticosteroids given % | 82.3 (50.7–96.2) | 79.1 (54.1–96.2) | 81.7 (9.2–93.8) | 84.8 (51.3–98.2) | <0.001 |
| Antibiotics correctly prescribed by sputum purulence or mechanical ventilation % | 61.4 (58.2–67.9) | 61.7 (52.8–74.3) | 61.1 (27.6–76.5) | 61.6 (50.0–73.4) | NS |
| Noninvasive ventilation correctly prescribed by blood gas test (pH<7.35 and PaCO2 >6 kPa) % | 85.2 (66.5–92.2) | 85.6 (60.3–94.8) | 85.1 (77.6–95.6) | 84.9 (76.2–100) | 0.025 |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation correctly prescribed by blood gas test (pH <7.25 and PaCO2 >8 kPa) % | 95.4 (92.7–98.3) | 96.3 (91.8–100) | 95.5 (86.3–99.2) | 94.8 (85.7–100) | 0.026 |
| Fulfilled all 10 recommendations % | 15.3 (1.6–24.7) | 15.9 (0.6–26.6) | 13.5 (0–27.4) | 16.5 (2.3–28.1) | <0.001 |
Data are presented as mean (intercountry range), unless otherwise stated. PaCO2: arterial carbon dioxide tension; NS: nonsignificant. #: Chi-squared test.