Table 5.
Comparison of matched patients receiving inadequate and adequate empirical therapya
| Variable | No. (%) of patients |
P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inadequate empirical therapy (n = 191) | Adequate empirical therapy (n = 191) | ||
| Male gender | 110 (57.6) | 123 (64.4) | 0.1 |
| Age of >55 yr | 148 (77.5) | 140 (73.3) | 0.3 |
| Tertiary center | 149 (78.0) | 156 (81.7) | 0.3 |
| ICU admission | 41 (21.5) | 46 (24.1) | 0.4 |
| Nosocomial BSI | 134 (70.2) | 133 (69.6) | 0.9 |
| Charlson index of ≥2 | 116 (60.7) | 111 (58.1) | 0.4 |
| Cancer | 65 (34.0) | 66 (34.6) | 1.0 |
| Central venous catheter | 73 (38.2) | 66 (34.6) | 0.5 |
| Parenteral hyperalimentation | 16 (8.4) | 17 (8.9) | 0.6 |
| Surgery | 36 (18.8) | 40 (20.9) | 0.4 |
| Previous antimicrobial treatment | 92 (48.2) | 94 (49.2) | 0.8 |
| High-risk etiology | 102 (53.4) | 97 (50.8) | 0.4 |
| High-risk source | 110 (57.6) | 110 (57.6) | 1.0 |
| Pitt score of ≥2 | 74 (38.7) | 66 (34.6) | 0.6 |
| Presentation with severe sepsis or septic shock | 38 (21.6) | 31 (17.3) | 0.3 |
| Mortality at day 14 | 47 (24.6) | 21 (11.0) | <0.001 |
| Mortality at day 30 | 50 (26.2) | 33 (17.3) | 0.02 |
a
Patients were matched using a propensity score. P values were calculated by the McNemar test.