Statistical analysis
REGRESSION
Statistical analyses and figure development were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics Version 28.0. Statistical significance was assessed by a two-sided alpha of 0.05. Continuous variables were analyzed with Student’s t-test or Mann–Whitney U Test for parametric and non-parametric data, respectively. Categorical variables were assessed with Fischer’s Exact Test. A Shapiro–Wilk Test was performed to assess for normally distributed data with a significance of p < 0.05, indicating non-normal distribution. AUROC was calculated on ALTA samples dichotomized by the presence of 90-day mortality to assess the predictive capability of MMP-3 concentration for mortality. The optimal cutoff value for MMP-3 concentration was determined by calculating Youden’s index (YI). Logistic regression was performed in a backward stepwise fashion. The following variables were included in the original model: Apache III score, vasopressor use within the 24 h before randomization, PaO