Table 1.
Baseline characteristics a
| Parameter | All (n =4,211) | Patients with treatment failure (n =864) | Patients without treatment failure (n =3,347) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr), median (IQR) | 63 (44 to 76) | 63 (45 to 76) | 63 (44 to 76) |
| Men, n (%) | 2,282 (54.2) | 438 (50.7) | 1,844 (55.1) |
| Clinical setting, n (%) | |||
| Primary care | 1,008 (23.9) | 323 (37.4) | 685 (20.5) |
| Emergency department | 2,605 (61.9) | 410 (47.5) | 2,195 (65.6) |
| ICU | 598 (14.2) | 131 (15.2) | 467 (14.0) |
| Primary diagnosis | |||
| Total upper ARI, n (%) | 549 (13.0) | 185 (21.4) | 364 (10.9) |
| Common cold | 305 (7.2) | 105 (12.2) | 200 (6.0) |
| Rhinosinusitis, otitis | 137 (3.3) | 46 (5.3) | 91 (2.7) |
| Pharyngitis, tonsillitis | 107 (2.5) | 34 (3.9) | 73 (2.2) |
| Total lower ARI, n (%) | 3,567 (84.7) | 654 (75.7) | 2,913 (87.0) |
| Community-acquired pneumonia | 2,027 (48.1) | 430 (49.8) | 1,597 (47.7) |
| Hospital-acquired pneumonia | 79 (1.9) | 0 (0) | 79 (2.4) |
| Ventilator-associated pneumonia | 242 (5.7) | 20 (2.3) | 222 (6.7) |
| Acute bronchitis | 531 (12.6) | 105 (12.2) | 426 (12.7) |
| Exacerbation of COPD | 584 (13.9) | 80 (9.3) | 504 (15.1) |
| Exacerbation of asthma | 30 (0.7) | 5 (0.6) | 25 (0.7) |
| Unspecified lower ARI | 74 (1.8) | 14 (1.6) | 60 (1.8) |
| Other final diagnosis, n (%) | 95 (2.3) | 25 (2.9) | 70 (2.1) |
| Procalcitonin overall (μg/L), mean, median (SD, IQR) | 2.5, 0.2 (11.4, 0.1 to 0.8) | 4.4, 0.2 (18.7, 0.1 to 1.2) | 2.0, 0.2 (8.4, 0.1 to 0.8) |
aARI, Acute respiratory tract infection; COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICU, Intensive care unit; IQR, Interquartile range; PCT, Procalcitonin; SD, Standard deviation.