Summary statistics and statistical comparisons between the early gastrostomy group and the control group regarding secondary outcome measures
| Secondary outcome measures | Early gastrostomy group | Control group | p-value |
| Subject n | 20 | 21 | |
| Length of stay in ICU days | 38.5±14.2 | 38.5±13.4 | >0.05 |
| Duration of mechanical ventilation days | 37.3±13.7 | 37.6±12.8 | >0.05 |
| ICU mortality no. deaths | 4 (20)# | 6 (28.5)¶ | >0.05 |
| ICU mortality attributed to VAP no. deaths | 1 (5) | 1 (4.7) | >0.05 |
Data are presented as mean±sd or n (%). ICU: Intensive care unit; VAP: ventilator-associated pneumonia. #: causes of death: brain death (2), heart failure (1), VAP-associated acute lung injury (1); ¶: causes of death: brain death (1), heart failure (1), pulmonary embolism (1), VAP (1), mesenteric artery embolism (1), disseminated candidiasis (1).