Table 5.
Characteristics of Clinically Right (Confirmed Infection) vs. “Clinically Wrong” (No Confirmed Infection) Cases
| Clinically right (n = 80) | Clinically wrong (n = 232) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General characteristics | |||
| Mean age (years) a | 54.1 ± 2.15 | 53.1 ± 1.2 | NS |
| Percent (n) male | 66.2 (53) | 66.8 (155) | NS |
| Percent (n) intubated | 92.5 (74) | 78.9 (183) | <0.05 |
| Percent (n) with history of renal failure b | 1.2 (1) | 2.6 (6) | NS |
| Percent (n) in renal failure at baseline | 11.2 (9) | 8.6 (20) | NS |
| Percent (n) having trauma surgery | 53.8 (43) | 46.6 (108) | NS |
| Percent (n) having general surgery | 27.5 (22) | 25.4 (59) | NS |
| Percent (n) having cardiothoracic/vascular surgery | 5.0 (4) | 12.1 (28) | NS |
| Infections and organisms | |||
| Percent (n) with infection on admission | 21.2 (17) | 1.3 (3) | <0.001 |
| Percent (n) with any resistant infection | 47.5 (38) | 9.1 (21) | <0.001 |
| Percent (n) who developed infection | 78.8 (63) | 13.8 (32) | <0.001 |
| Mean total infections | 1.5 ± 0.08 | 0.2 ± 0.04 | <0.001 |
| Antibiotic use | |||
| Percent (n) with prior antibiotics | 28.8 (23) | 17.2 (40) | <0.05 |
| Mean number of prior antibiotic days | 0.9 ± 0.23 | 0.7 ± 0.15 | NS |
| Mean duration of empiric antibiotics (days) | 2.9 ± 0.23 | 3.1 ± 0.19 | NS |
| Mean STICU day antibiotic initiated | 5.1 ± 0.49 | 3.0 ± 0.26 | <0.001 |
| Percent (n) having empiric course >3 days | 26.2 (21) | 30.6 (71) | NS |
| Mean number of post-course days | 7.0 ± 0.66 | 1.8 ± 0.26 | <0.001 |
| Mean total antibiotic days | 10.7 ± 0.70 | 5.6 ± 0.36 | <0.001 |
| Outcomes | |||
| Mean STICU LOS (days) | 18.4 ± 1.18 | 10.7 ± 0.58 | <0.05 |
| Ventilator days | 14.1 ± 1.15 | 6.9 ± 0.54 | <0.05 |
| Percent (n) who developed renal failure | 17.5 (14) | 24.1 (56) | NS |
| Percent (n) who died | 8.8 (7) | 8.6 (20) | NS |
a
Means ± standard deviation.
b
Serum creatinine concentration >2.2 mg/dL.
NS = not significant; STICU = surgery and trauma intensive care unit; LOS = length of stay.