Abstract
The problem of septicaemia in a district general hospital was studied prospectively over a two year period, with respect to factors affecting prognosis. Age had little influence on the outcome, although several factors showed age-related trends which tended to be unfavourable to survival. The mortality among patients over 65 years of age was 39.5% and this was not significantly different from the mortality of 34.5% among those below that age. It is suggested that by taking into consideration simple clinical and laboratory findings like sex, source of infection, intercurrent illness, blood urea, pulse rate and temperature, it is possible to predict prognosis with reasonable accuracy without recourse to excessive expenditure of money or resources.
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Selected References
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