Table 1 Characteristics of patients with assumed infection transferred to the ICU/HDU or ward from the ER
Characteristics | Transfer to ICU/HDU (n = 66) a | Transfer to ward (n = 253) a | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
Age, median years (range) | 71.5 (18–94) | 73 (19–96) | NS |
Sex, % female | 35 | 40 | NS |
Charlson morbidity score | 5 (0–15) | 5 (0–18) | NS |
Comorbidity | n (%) | n (%) | |
Myocardial infarction | 5 (7.5) | 35 (14) | |
Heart failure | 14 (21) | 44 (17) | |
Peripheral vascular disease | 7 (10.5) | 22 (9) | |
Stroke | 11 (16.5) | 42 (17) | |
Dementia | 8 (12) | 31 (12) | |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 7 (10.5) | 46 (18) | |
Connective tissue disease | 3 (4.5) | 18 (7) | |
Peptic ulcer disease | 4 (6) | 7 (3) | |
Liver disease | 5 (7.5) | 14 (5.5) | |
Diabetes mellitus | 16 (24) | 59 (23) | |
Hemiplegia | 1 (1.5) | 10 (4) | |
Moderate to severe kidney failure | 13 (19.5) | 54 (21) | |
Solid tumour | 10 (15) | 54 (21) | |
Lymphoma | 4 (6) | 8 (3) | |
Leukaemia | 5 (7.5) | 13 (5) | |
HIV/AIDS | 0 (0) | 1 (0) | |
Source of infection | |||
Respiratory tract | 22 (33) | 104 (41) | 0.001 |
Urogenital | 18 (27) | 51 (20) | NS |
Intra-abdominal | 7 (11) | 24 (9.5) | NS |
Skin/joint/soft tissue/bone | 6 (9) | 33 (13) | NS |
Endocarditis | 1 (2) | 6 (2) | NS |
Other | 0 (0) | 10 (3) | NS |
Unknown | 12 (18) | 25 (10) | NS |
Delta-SOFA score | 2.5 (0–8) | 3 (0–10) | NS |
Sepsis | 57 (86) | 204 (81) | < 0.001 |
Septic shock | 16 (24) | 0 (0) | < 0.001 |
ICU/HDU/dead during hospital stay | 66 (100) | 13 (5) | < 0.001 |
Dead within 28 days | 6 (9) | 22 (9) | NS |
Positive blood cultures | 26 (39) | 81 (32) | NS |
Blood culture species (most frequent) | |||
Escherichia coli | 11 (44) | 20 (26) | |
Streptococcus spp. | 4 (16) | 11 (14) | |
Klebsiella spp. | 3 (12) | 12 (15) | |
Pseudomonas spp. | 3 (12) | 4 (5) | |
Staphylococcus aureus | 1 (4) | 6 (8) | |
Streptococcus pneumoniae | 0 (0) | 6 (8) | |