Ventilatory variables of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) who developed pneumomediastinum/subcutaneous emphysema (n=23)
| Variables | On the first day of mechanical ventilation | On the day of P/SE | p-value |
| Positive end-expiratory pressure cmH2O | 12 (8–15) | 9 (6–13) | 0.002 |
| Peak airway pressure cmH2O | 30±5 | 29±5 | 0.08 |
| Plateau airway pressure cmH2O | 24±5 | 22±4 | 0.045 |
| pH | 7.32±0.09 | 7.33±0.13 | 0.4 |
| PaCO2 mmHg | 54±14 | 53±12 | 0.77 |
| Compliance of the respiratory system mL·cmH2O−1 | 25 (22–34) | 33 (27–40) | 0.13 |
| Minute ventilation L·min−1 | 8.4±1.2 | 8.9±2.1 | 0.13 |
| Corrected minute ventilation L·min−1 | 11.5±4 | 12.1±4.1 | 0.45 |
| PaO2/FIO2 mmHg | 108±33 | 131±76 | 0.13 |
| Tidal volume/ideal body weight mL·kg−1 | 6±0.9 | 6.7±1.7 | 0.008 |
Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. P/SE: pneumomediastinum/subcutaneous emphysema; PaCO2: arterial carbon dioxide tension; PaO2: arterial oxygen tension; FIO2: inspiratory oxygen fraction.