Statistical analysis
Numerical data are reported as mean and standard deviation, and nominal data are reported as frequency. Nominal data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. Numerical data were explored for normality using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and the Shapiro–Wilk test. In the case of normally distributed numerical variables, both groups were compared with an independent t-test. In contrast, for non-normally distributed variables, the Mann–Whitney 