Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with sepsis included in the primary analysis cohort
| Characteristic | Intervention ED |
Control EDs |
P Value for Intervention vs. Control ED | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preintervention (n = 2,384) |
Postintervention (n = 2,075) |
P Value | Overall (n = 4,459) |
Preintervention (n = 2,976) | Postintervention (n = 2,716) |
P Value | Overall (n = 5,692) |
||
| Female sex, n (%) | 1,276 (53.5) | 1,037 (50.0) | 0.02 | 2,313 (51.9) | 1,440 (48.4) | 1,229 (45.3) | 0.02 | 2,669 (46.9) | <0.001 |
| Age, yr, median (IQR) | 64 (48–76) | 65 (49–75) | 0.44 | 64 (49–76) | 69 (55–79) | 69 (54–78) | 0.31 | 69 (55–79) | <0.001 |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | 0.16 | 0.009 | <0.001 | ||||||
| Hispanic/Latino | 331 (13.9) | 294 (14.2) | — | 625 (14.0) | 207 (7.0) | 249 (9.2) | — | 456 (8.0) | — |
| Non-Hispanic/Latino White | 1,851 (77.6) | 1,572 (75.8) | — | 3,423 (76.8) | 2,638 (88.6) | 2,352 (86.6) | — | 4,990 (87.7) | — |
| Non-Hispanic/Latino other race | 202 (8.5) | 209 (10.1) | — | 411 (9.2) | 131 (4.4) | 115 (4.2) | — | 246 (4.3) | — |
| English as preferred language, n (%) | 2,204 (92.4) | 1,866 (89.9) | 0.003 | 4,070 (91.3) | 2,854 (95.9) | 2,567 (94.5) | 0.02 | 5,421 (95.2) | <0.001 |
| Presented from long-term care facility, n (%) | 144 (6.0) | 179 (8.6) | 0.001 | 323 (7.2) | 195 (6.6) | 147 (5.4) | 0.08 | 342 (6.0) | 0.01 |
| Arrival to ED by ambulance, n (%) | 803 (33.7) | 800 (38.6) | 0.001 | 1,603 (35.9) | 1,011 (34.0) | 982 (36.2) | 0.09 | 1,993 (35.0) | 0.34 |
| Weighted Elixhauser comorbidity score, median (IQR) | 11 (0–24) | 11 (0–23) | 0.65 | 11 (0–23) | 12 (2–23) | 10 (0–22) | 0.002 | 11 (1–22) | 0.92 |
| First available clinical parameters | |||||||||
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg, median (IQR) | 127 (109–145) | 126 (109–145) | 0.94 | 126 (109–145) | 128 (110–146) | 128 (110–145) | 0.83 | 128 (110–146) | 0.008 |
| Respiratory rate, breaths/min, median (IQR) | 20 (18–22) | 20 (18–24) | <0.001 | 20 (18–24) | 18 (16–22) | 20 (18–23) | <0.001 | 19 (17–22) | <0.001 |
| Temperature, °C, median (IQR) | 37.6 (36.7–38.5) | 37.2 (36.3–38.3) | <0.001 | 37.5 (36.5–38.4) | 37.2 (36.6–38.2) | 37.1 (36.5–38.1) | 0.002 | 37.1 (36.5–38.2) | <0.001 |
| WBC count, 1,000/μl, median (IQR)* | 11.6 (8.1–16.0) | 11.7 (7.8–16.3) | 0.82 | 11.6 (8.0–16.1) | 11.6 (8.2–16.0) | 11.4 (7.7–16.1) | 0.09 | 11.5 (8.0–16.0) | 0.79 |
| Lactate checked & ≥2 mmol/dl, n (%) | 894 (37.5) | 897 (43.2) | <0.001 | 1,791 (40.2) | 1,105 (37.1) | 1,012 (37.3) | 0.94 | 2,117 (37.2) | 0.002 |
| ED-diagnosed source of infection, n (%) | 0.003 | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
| Pulmonary | 653 (27.4) | 641 (30.9) | — | 1,294 (29.0) | 964 (32.4) | 1,005 (37.0) | — | 1,969 (34.6) | — |
| Urinary | 745 (31.2) | 578 (27.9) | — | 1,323 (29.7) | 990 (33.3) | 728 (26.8) | — | 1,718 (30.2) | — |
| GI/abdominal | 217 (9.1) | 233 (11.2) | — | 450 (10.1) | 226 (7.6) | 245 (9.0) | — | 471 (8.3) | — |
| Skin/soft tissue | 244 (10.2) | 191 (9.2) | — | 435 (9.8) | 175 (5.9) | 162 (6.0) | — | 337 (5.9) | — |
| Other/multiple/unknown | 525 (22.0) | 432 (20.8) | — | 957 (21.5) | 621 (20.9) | 576 (21.2) | — | 1,197 (21.0) | — |
| Positive SARS-CoV-2 assay, n (%)† | N/A | 299 (14.4) | N/A | 299 (6.7) | N/A | 461 (17.0) | N/A | 461 (8.1) | 0.008 |
| Acute physiology score, median (IQR) | 8 (5–11) | 9 (6–12) | <0.001 | 8 (6–12) | 7 (4–10) | 7 (5–10) | 0.37 | 7 (5–10) | <0.001 |
| ED SOFA score, median (IQR) | 3 (2–5) | 4 (3–5) | <0.001 | 4 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 0.25 | 3 (2–5) | <0.001 |
| ED length of stay, min, median (IQR) | 270 (217–340) | 279 (225–350) | <0.001 | 275 (220–346) | 229 (185–280) | 233 (189–288) | 0.009 | 231 (187–284) | <0.001 |
Definition of abbreviations: ED = emergency department; GI = gastrointestinal; IQR = interquartile range; N/A = not applicable; SARS-CoV-2 = severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SOFA = Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; WBC = white blood cell.
*
Data missingness: WBC count, n = 114.
†
Includes one or more positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction or antigen assay occurring during the index encounter or within 14 days preceding ED arrival.