Some secondary outcomes, including heart rate, respiratory frequency, leucocyte counts, platelet counts, lactate level, and serum creatinine, decreased, and PaO2, mean arterial pressure, and urinary production per hour increased in study group patients as compared to the control group (Table 3). Days of ICU hospitalization and mechanical ventilation showed no significant difference between the two groups (, ) (Table 3).
An allergic reaction was found in 1 patient in the study group, who had erythema, rash, and swelling all over the body. These signs of allergic reaction improved after immediate termination of the safflower yellow infusion and intravenous injection of dexamethasone and calcium glucose. There were no other serious adverse reactions such as allergic shock. Bilirubin levels did not increase after safflower yellow treatment () (Table 3).
Cultures of blood, sputum, abdominal drainage fluid, urine, and pus were performed, with percentages of isolation of 30% and 31.11% in the study and control groups, respectively. These pathogens included Klebsiella pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. This information about cultured isolation of the pathogens is showed in Table 4.