Source of Funding
This work was funded by the nonprofit institute ‘‘THORAX’’
Research Center for Intensive and Emergency Thoracic Medicine,
Athens, Greece.
Author’s contributions
AGV designed and conducted experiments and drafted the manuscript.
ZM collected and processed specimens and recorded
patient data. SEO designed and supervised the study and edited
the manuscript. EJ collected and processed specimens and
recorded patient data. NAM designed the study and drafted the
manuscript. AK analyzed data and edited the manuscript. AA edited
the manuscript and provided valuable input to study design.
AK designed the study, collected specimens, supervised patient
enrolment, data collection and recording, and edited the manuscript.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ms. Christina Sotiropoulou,
MSc for conducting the statistical analysis. We would also like to
thank the nursing staff of the ‘‘Evangelismos’’ Hospital ICU for their