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. 2025 Aug 22;29:381. doi: 10.1186/s13054-025-05600-7

Table 1.

Characteristics of included studies

First author and year Study design Sample size Country Sepsis definition Study population – ward or ICU? Non-Sepsis Comparator group
Barrett 2024 Retrospective cohort study 927,057 Canada ICD-10 codes Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward. Admission to ICU present in propensity score model. Hospitalized non-sepsis controls (matched)
Braun 2004 Retrospective cohort study 2,834 United States Sepsis-1 definition using ICD-9-CM codes for sepsis and organ dysfunction Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward None
Chang 2015 Retrospective cohort study 240,198 United States ICD-9-CM codes for septicemia, septicemic, bacteremia, disseminated fungal infection, disseminated candida infection, disseminated fungal endocarditis, using the Martin implementation [53] Not specified Hospitalizations with congestive heart failure and acute myocardial infarction
Farrah 2021 Retrospective cohort study 270,669 Canada Sepsis-2 using ICD-10 codes Stratified by ICU and ward Hospitalized, non-sepsis comparator group (propensity matched controls)
Fleischmann-Struzek 2021 Retrospective cohort study 159,684 Germany Sepsis-1 and sepsis-2 using ICD-10 codes Stratified by ICU and ward None
Gadre 2019 Retrospective cohort study 1,030,335 United States ICD-9 codes Not specified None
Goodwin 2015 Retrospective cohort study 43,452 United States ICD-9 codes Not specified None
Lee 2004 Prospective cohort study 502 Canada Not stated ICU only None
Letarte 2002 Retrospective cohort study 35 (followed up) Canada ICD-9 codes for septic shock and septicemia/sepsis Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward None
Mageau 2019 Retrospective cohort study 28,522 SLE patients, of which 1,068 experienced septic shock France ICD-10 diagnostic codes for both infection and shock Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward SLE patients who did not have sepsis
Nissenson 2005 Retrospective cohort study 11,572 United States ICD-9 code indicating sepsis caused by S. aureus Not specified An end-stage renal disease comparator group was used only for comparisons of the costs of the index hospitalization
Pandolfi 2023 Retrospective cohort study 147,013 France Study specific definition combining implicit and explicit sepsis codes in health administrative records Results not reported stratified by ward and ICU None
Paoli 2018 Retrospective cohort study 2,566,689 United States ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes for sepsis, stratified by severity (septic shock, severe sepsis, sepsis without organ dysfunction, other), or if subjects were reimbursed under a sepsis DRG code with an associated diagnosis of bacteremia Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward None
Prescott 2014 Retrospective cohort study 1,404 United States ICD-9-CM codes using the Angus definition [54] Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward None
Puceta 2024 Retrospective cohort study 28,450 Latvia ICD-10 codes Not specified Non-sepsis hospitalizations (matched)
Rose 2023 Retrospective cohort study 159,684 Germany ICD-10 codes Results not reported stratified by ICU and ward None
Sankaran 2024 Retrospective cohort study 324,694 United States MS-DRG criteria based on ICD codes Not specified None
Schmidt 2022 Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study 210 Germany Sepsis-1 using ICD-10 codes ICU only None
Stinehart 2024 Retrospective cohort study 106,189 United States ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes Not specified None
Tew 2021 Retrospective cohort study 160,511 Canada Sepsis-3 definition, using ICD-10 codes Not specified Cancer patients without sepsis
Thompson 2018 Retrospective cohort study 3,442 Australia Sepsis-1 and Sepsis-3 ICU only Admitted to ICU with no diagnosis of sepsis
Weycker 2003 Retrospective cohort study 16,019 United States ICD-9 codes, identifying hospitalization with bacterial or fungal infection and organ dysfunction (severe sepsis) Not specified None
Winkler 2023 Retrospective cohort study 41,918 Germany ICD-10 codes Stratified by ICU and ward None

ICD: International Classification of Diseases

ICU: Intensive Care Unit

MS-DRG: Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups

SLE: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

ESRD: End-Stage Renal Disease

LOS: Length of Stay