Table 1.
Characteristics of U.S. emergency department visits for infection with and without severe sepsis, 2005–2009
| Characteristics | Severe Sepsis % (95%CI) | Infection without Severe Sepsis % (95%CI) | No Infection % (95%CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years; median (IQR) | 69 (54–82) | 40 (26–60) | 43 (29–58) |
| 18–44 | 15% (12–19) | 56% (55–58) | 53% (52–54) |
| 45–64 | 28% (22–34) | 23% (22–24) | 28% (28–28) |
| 65–79 | 28% (23–34) | 11% (11–12) | 11% (11–12) |
| ≥80 | 29% (24–34) | 9.2% (8.6–9.8) | 7.5% (7.2–7.9) |
| Nursing home resident | 25% (20–31) | 3.9% (3.4–4.4) | 2.3% (2.1–2.5) |
| Female sex | 51% (46–56) | 62% (61–63) | 56% (55–56) |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 68% (63–73) | 62% (59–65) | 64% (61–66) |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 19% (15–24) | 22% (20–25) | 22% (19–25) |
| Hispanic | 8.6% (5.9–12) | 12% (10–14) | 11% (10–13) |
| Other | 3.9% (nc) | 3.3% (2.5–4.3) | 3.4% (2.7–4.2) |
| Region | |||
| Northeast | 16% (12–21) | 18% (16–20) | 19% (17–22) |
| Midwest | 26% (20–34) | 21% (18–26) | 23% (19–27) |
| South | 38% (30–45) | 42% (37–46) | 39% (35–43) |
| West | 20% (14–26) | 19% (15–24) | 19% (15–23) |
| Urban location | 85% (75–92) | 83% (73–90) | 84% (75–90) |
| Clinical | |||
| Ambulance arrival | 57% (50–63) | 14% (13–15) | 19% (18–20) |
| Vital signs, median (IQR) | |||
| Temperature, Fahrenheit | 98.2 (97.4–99.3) | 98.2 (97.6–98.9) | 98.0 (97.4–98.5) |
| Systolic blood pressure | 91 (80–129) | 131 (118–146) | 134 (120–149) |
| Heart rate | 96 (80–113) | 89 (78–102) | 84 (74–96) |
| Respiratory rate | 18 (18–24) | 18 (18–20) | 18 (16–20) |
| Oxygen saturation | 96 (92–98) | 98 (96–99) | 98 (97–99) |
| Triage acuity | |||
| Emergent | 43% (37–49) | 12% (11–14) | 17% (16–18) |
| Urgent | 36% (30–42) | 40% (38–42) | 39% (37–41) |
| Semi-urgent/non-urgent | 12% (8.7–17) | 35% (33–37) | 31% (30–33) |
| Missing | 8.8% (5.8–13) | 12% (10–14) | 13% (11–15) |
| Site of infection | |||
| Respiratory | 39% (34–44) | 34% (33–35) | -- |
| Genitourinary | 20% (16–25) | 24% (24–25) | -- |
| Skin and soft tissue | 5.5% (3.1–9.4) | 21% (20–23) | -- |
| Infectious and parasitic disease | 9.5% (6.7–13) | 3.8% (3.4–4.3) | -- |
| Other | 11% (8.2–16) | 12% (11–13) | -- |
| Multiple sites | 14% (11–19) | 1.1% (0.9–1.4) | -- |
| Outcomes | |||
| ED LOS, hours; median (IQR) | 4.4 (2.9–6.0) | 1.6 (2.9–4.6) | 2.7 (1.6–4.5) |
| ED Disposition | |||
| Admitted, intensive care | 25% (20–30) | 3.0% (2.7–3.4) | 2.6% (2.4–2.9) |
| Admitted, non-intensive care | 49% (42–56) | 18% (17–19) | 13% (12–14) |
| Not admitted | 26% (20–34) | 79% (78–80) | 84% (83–85) |
| Hospital LOS, days; median (IQR) | 6 (4–8) | 3 (5–7) | 4 (3–6) |
| In-hospital mortality | 21% (15–28) | 3.0% (2.4–3.8) | 4.1% (3.8–4.5) |
CI, confidence interval; IQR, interquartile range; ED, emergency department; LOS, length of stay; nc, not calculable due to >30% relative standard error