Although I continue reviewing the DiPALS report from SiTraN, I have another observation to note:

Again reviewing the numbers along the lower horizontal edge of the graph:

37 36 26 13 6 4
37 29 14 06 4 1

These appear to be the number of patients remaining alive at the start and then at end of each six month period thereafter. The lower numbers are regarded as the DPS stimulation group. Consider the following:

-7 -5 +5 +5 -1

These numbers are the differences in the number of patients who left the study (passed away) at each six month interval. Two things to note:

1. In the six month periods ending at eighteen months and two years the DPS stimulation group had five more survivors than the NIV only group.

2. The -7 in the first six months probably includes the five who opted out and the one found during surgery not to be able to accomodate the DPS device (total of six). They didn't immediately die.

So adjusted, the numbers would be:

-1 -5 +5 +5 -1

. . . far closer than you would think (the DPS stimulation group clearly prevailed in two of the five periods) . . . . Important question is: the stati of those six are (were they still alive at thirty months)? A difference of only one in a period is probably too close to call but two such periods leaned to the NIV only group and in the second period the NIV only group was clearly ahead.

Further, Table 4 lists one DPS stimulation patient as dying of hypothermia . . . correct me if I am wrong, isn't hypothermia freezing to death? How can the DPS device cause one to freeze to death, stimulation or no stimulation?