Matching for propensity score yielded 1264 pairs of patients. This matching allowed us to find 2 well-matched groups . We found no significant differences in any of the baseline values tested.
Using this well-matched subgroup of patients, we again found significant differences in outcome. Patients in the early enteral nutrition group had significantly lower hospital mortality (34.1%) than did the late enteral nutrition group (42.7%). The difference in survival is also apparent in the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. The results indicate that being fed early was associated with a 34% decreased risk of death.