Table 2.
Descriptive characteristics of 29,273 inpatients with one or more blood cultures taken within the first 2 days following hospital admission.
| Blood culture | ||
|---|---|---|
| Negative No. (%) | Positive No. (%) | |
| Total | 26,625 (91.0) | 2,648 (9.1) |
| Time of blood culture | ||
| Day of admission | 20,158 (75.7) | 2,228 (84.1) |
| First day following admission | 4,921 (18.5) | 368 (13.9) |
| Second day following admission | 1,546 (5.8) | 52 (2.0) |
| Calendar period | ||
| 1995-1998 | 8,703 (32.7) | 925 (35.0) |
| 1999-2002 | 8,402 (31.6) | 838 (31.7) |
| 2003-2006 | 9,520 (35.8) | 885 (33.4) |
| Marital status | ||
| Married | 12,349 (46.4) | 1,204 (45.5) |
| Never married | 5,097 (19.1) | 345 (13.0) |
| Divorced or widowed | 8,902 (33.4) | 1061 (40.1) |
| Unknown | 277 (1.0) | 38 (1.4) |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 13,543 (50.9) | 1,216 (45.9) |
| Female | 13,082 (49.1) | 1,432 (54.1) |
| Age group (years) | ||
| 15-39 | 4,405 (16.5) | 206 (7.8) |
| 40-59 | 5,353 (20.1) | 481 (18.2) |
| 60-79 | 10,835 (40.7) | 1,168 (44.1) |
| 80 and older | 6,032 (22.7) | 793 (30.0) |
| Comorbidity | ||
| Previous myocardial infarction | 1,720 (6.5) | 182 (6.9) |
| Congestive heart failure | 1,934 (7.3) | 246 (9.3) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 1,451 (5.5) | 181 (6.8) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 2,710 (10.2) | 283 (10.7) |
| Dementia | 434 (1.6) | 41 (1.6) |
| Hemiplegia | 121 (0.5) | 6 (0.2) |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 3,992 (15.0) | 284 (10.7) |
| Connective tissue disease | 1,098 (4.1) | 136 (5.1) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 1,794 (6.7) | 211 (8.0) |
| Mild liver disease | 355 (1.3) | 62 (2.3) |
| Moderate to severe liver disease | 84 (0.3) | 20 (0.8) |
| Diabetes without end-stage organ damage | 1,856 (7.0) | 255 (9.6) |
| Diabetes with end-stage organ damage | 888 (3.3) | 103 (3.9) |
| Moderate to severe renal disease | 647 (2.4) | 73 (2.8) |
| Solid cancer | 2,752 (10.6) | 293 (11.6) |
| Metastatic solid cancer | 376 (1.4) | 50 (1.9) |
| Leukemia | 172 (0.7) | 16 (0.6) |
| Lymphoma | 316 (1.2) | 26 (1.0) |
| AIDS | 28 (0.1) | 3 (0.1) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index Score | ||
| Low score (0) | 13,297 (49.9) | 1,231 (46.5) |
| Medium score (1-2) | 9,654 (36.3) | 993 (37.5) |
| High score (>2) | 3,674 (13.8) | 424 (16.0) |