Table 2.
Patient characteristics and laboratory data of patients with suspected bloodstream infections.
| Patient characteristic | BC+ and/or ddPCR+a (n = 94) | BC-/ddPCR-b
(n = 79) |
P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 62.5 ± 16.3 | 65.6 ± 17.2 | 0.223 |
| Male, n (%) | 60 (63.8) | 52 (65.8) | 0.785 |
| Intensive Care Unit, n (%) | 60 (63.8) | 54 (68.4) | 0.785 |
| Temperature (°C) | 38.2 ± 1.1 | 37.9 ± 1.0 | 0.056 |
| Laboratory data, median (IQR) | |||
| White blood cell (× 109/L)c | 11.3 (6.5, 14.5) | 11.4 (7.7, 16.2) | 0.218 |
| Neutrophil (%)c | 87.3 (81.5, 93.1) | 85.4 (79.4, 91.0) | 0.141 |
| Procalcitonin (ng/mL) | 2.4 (0.6, 9.0) | 0.68 (0.3, 2.5) | 0.001 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 93.6 (56.9, 209.6) | 107.3 (43.0, 145.8) | 0.657 |
| Clinical status, n (%) | |||
| Cancer | 34 (36.2) | 26 (32.9) | 0.654 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 37 (39.4) | 37 (46.8) | 0.322 |
| Neutrophilic deficiency | 8 (8.5) | 6 (7.6) | 0.826 |
| Immunosuppressiond | 43 (45.7) | 32 (40.5) | 0.489 |
| Pulmonary infection | 51 (54.3) | 58 (73.4) | 0.009 |
| Recent use of broad-spectrum antibiotics | 67 (71.3) | 67 (84.8) | 0.034 |
| 28-day mortality, n (%) | 19 (20.2) | 18 (22.8) | 0.681 |
aPatients with microorganisms detected by blood culture (BC) and/or droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) testing, including BC-/ddPCR+ (n = 46), BC+/ddPCR+ (n = 46), and BC+/ddPCR- (n = 2); bpatients without microorganisms detected by either method; cdata excluded patients with a neutrophilic deficiency; dImmunosuppressive patients included those with malignancies, transplantation, or autoimmune conditions receiving immunosuppressant therapy.