Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Patients at Admission to the Intensive Care Unit.
| Characteristics (n) | Total | Survivors (n=155) | Non-survivors (n=57) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 68 (29-95) | 66 (29-95) | 71 (29-91) | 0.218 |
| Male | 149 (70.3) | 115 (74.2) | 34 (59.6) | 0.044 |
| APACHE II score | 23 (6-40) | 22 (6-38) | 28 (15-40) | <0.001 |
| SOFA score | 10 (3-18) | 10 (3-18) | 12 (4-18) | <0.001 |
| Primary site of infection | ||||
| Respiratory tract | 122 (57.5) | 84 (54.2) | 38 (66.7) | 0.118 |
| Hepatobiliary tracts | 34 (18.0) | 29 (18.7) | 5 (8.8) | 0.093 |
| Urinary tract | 18 (8.5) | 15 (9.7) | 3 (5.3) | 0.410 |
| Gastrointestinal tracts | 14 (6.6) | 10 (6.5) | 4 (7.0) | >0.999 |
| Cutaneous/soft tissue | 7 (3.3) | 5 (3.2) | 2 (3.5) | >0.999 |
| Central nervous system | 3 (1.4) | 2 (1.3) | 1 (1.8) | >0.999 |
| Others | 10 (4.7) | 8 (5.2) | 2 (3.5) | >0.999 |
| Unknown | 5 (2.4) | 3 (1.9) | 2 (3.5) | 0.613 |
| Positive blood culture | 72 (34.0) | 58 (37.4) | 14 (24.6) | 0.102 |
| Gram-positive* | 22 (10.4) | 20 (12.9) | 2 (3.5) | 0.072 |
| Gram-negative† | 49 (23.1) | 39 (25.2) | 10 (17.5) | 0.275 |
| Polymicrobial | 11 (5.2) | 8 (5.2) | 3 (5.3) | >0.999 |
| Fungi‡ | 3 (1.4) | 1 (0.6) | 2 (3.5) | 0.177 |
| White blood cell (103/mm3) (211) | 12600 (600-86700) | 12300 (600-86700) | 12700 (3300-47400) | 0.344 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/dL) (139) | 16.1 (0.1-67.4) | 17.6 (0.1-67.4) | 14.1 (0.9-46.7) | 0.693 |
| Procalcitonin (ng/mL) (57) | 5.1 (0.1-200.0) | 5.1 (0.1-200.0) | 7.0 (0.1-87.6) | 0.661 |
| Lactate (mmol/L) (210) | 1.8 (0.3-15.0) | 1.6 (0.3-13.8) | 2.4 (0.4-15.0) | 0.001 |
| IL-1β (pg/mL) (190) | 6.5 (1.5-219.0) | 6.3 (1.5-219.0) | 6.7 (1.8-133.0) | 0.890 |
| IL-6 (pg/mL) (190) | 140.4 (3.5-16164.5) | 134.0 (3.5-16164.5) | 202.8 (15.6-11562.5) | 0.086 |
| IL-10 (pg/mL) (190) | 33.4 (3.5-22427.5) | 31.7 (3.5-1492.3) | 40.5 (4.2-22427.5) | 0.029 |
| IL-17 (pg/mL) (190) | 6.4 (1.8-317.1) | 6.8 (317.1) | 5.3 (1.9-91.2) | 0.077 |
| HMGB1 (ng/mL) (190) | 16.1 (0.1-310.3) | 15.4 (0.1-84.4) | 18.0 (0.1-310.3) | 0.687 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) (190) | 17.2 (3.9-249.4) | 17.3 (4.5-249.4) | 17.0 (3.9-193.5) | 0.953 |
APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; IL, interleukin; HMGB1, high mobility group box 1; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.
Data are presented as means (range) (continuous variables) or number (%) (categorical values). Student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney U-test, depending on normality of the distribution, was used to compare continuous variables between two groups. Also, the χ2 and Fisher's exact tests (for small numbers) were used to compare categorical variables.
*Gram-positive bacteria included Streptococcus pneumonia (7), Staphylococcus aureus (5), Streptococcus anginosus (3), Streptococcus constellatus (2), Streptococcus mitis (1), Streptococcus dysgalactiae (1), Streptococcus agalactiae (1), Streptococcus intermedius (1), Enterococcus gallinarum (1), Enterococcus casseliflavus (1), and Peptostreptococcus spp. (1), †Gram-negative bacteria included E.coli (24), Klebsiella pneumonia (12), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8), Klebsiella oxytoca (5), Aeromonas hydrophilia (2), Bacteroides fragilis (2), Citrobacter koseri (1), Citrobacter freundii (1), Burholderia cepacia (1), Acinetobacter baumanii (1), Providencia rittgeri (1), and Enterobacter aerogens (1), ‡Fungi included Candida grabrata (1) and Candida albicans (1).