Statistical analysis
The normal distribution of continuous variables was examined using the Shapiro–Wilk test. Continuous data were expressed as mean values ± the standard deviation if normally distributed. Categorical data were presented as a percentage. The Student’s two-sample t-test or the Man–Whitney U test was performed to compare continuous variables. Fisher’s exact test or the Chi-square test was used to compare categorical data. To compare more than two variables, we used the one-way variance analysis or the Kruskal–Wallis test as an extension of the Student’s t-test. Univariate analysis was performed to assess the predictors of clinical outcomes. The predictors of 12-month mortality were estimated by multivariate regression analysis. Cumulative survival incidence was compared using the Log-rank test between the groups and presented by the Kaplan–Meier curve. A ROC analysis was performed to determine independent predictors’ sensitivity and specificity for unfavourable outcomes and mortality with defined cut-off values. Two-tailed p-values were considered to be significant if ranging below 0.05. Statistics were performed using SPSS (PASW statistic, Version 25.0.0.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) and MedCalc Statistical Software (Version 19.2, MedCalc Software Ltd, Ostend, Belgium).