TABLE 4.
Patient Outcomes Stratified by Appropriateness in Empiric Antimicrobial Therapy
| Outcomes | Inappropriate, n (%) |
Appropriate, n (%) |
p |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. patients | 597 (21) | 2,258 (79) | — |
| No. infectious episodes | 2,085 (29) | 5,073 (71) | — |
| Mortality | 0.93 | ||
| No | 546 (91) | 2,068 (92) | |
| Yes | 51 (9) | 190 (8) | |
| Hospital LOS, d | 0.0011 | ||
| Mean ± SD | 22 ± 22 | 20 ± 33 | |
| Median (IQR) | 15 (22) | 13 (18) | |
| Antibiotic duration,* d | <0.0001** | ||
| Mean ± SD | 15 ± 11 | 13 ± 12 | |
| Median (IQR) | 13 (11) | 11 (9) |
*
Analyzed by total number of episodes of infection (N = 7,158).
**
To accommodate for a correlated data structure corresponding to multiple episodes of infection per individual, the analysis of inappropriateness among episodes of infection was computed using a GEE approach with robust SEs (i.e., Huber-White sandwich variance estimates).
For categorical data, the Fisher’s exact or the χ2 was used depending upon the size of the data for each respective variable. For continuous data, the Deuchler-Wilcoxon or the independent t test was used depending upon the normalcy of distribution.
IQR, interquartile range; LOS, length of stay; SD, standard deviation.