Statistical analysis
For normally distributed continuous parametric variables Student’s
t-test was used and expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD).
Kruskal-Wallis test was used when normal distribution was not present.
Fisher exact test or the χ2 test was used for categorical variables and
expressed as number and percentage. Paired Student’s t -test was
used to compare means from baseline to follow-up. A p-value of
<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Continuous
variables of baseline demographics are expressed as mean ± SD. Results
are expressed as mean ± SD. Categorical variables were expressed as
number and proportion. Analysis was performed using SPSS version 24 (IBM
SPSS statistics, IBM corporation, Armonk, New York).