Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with sepsis by hospital sepsis case volume quartile
| Variable [n (%) unless otherwise noted] | Hospital Sepsis Case Volume Quartile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quartile N = 11,476 (0.1–7.8 cases/month) |
2nd Quartile N = 41,066 (7.9–17.3 cases/month) |
3rd Quartile N = 76,606 (17.4–29.3 cases/month) |
4th Quartile N = 158,766 (29.4–99.1 cases/month) |
Standardized Differencea | |
| Age [median (IQR)] | 73 (23) | 71 (23) | 71 (23) | 70 (24) | 0.05 |
| Sex (female) | 6042 (52.7) | 20956 (51) | 38581 (50.4) | 80332 (50.6) | 0.03 |
| Race | 0.23b | ||||
| White | 9319 (81.2) | 29727 (72.4) | 50444 (65.9) | 104783 (66) | |
| Black | 739 (6.4) | 4492 (10.9) | 10023 (13.1) | 24508 (15.4) | |
| Hispanic | 130 (1.1) | 296 (0.7) | 1513 (2) | 2630 (1.7) | |
| Other/unknown | 1288 (11.2) | 6551 (16) | 14626 (19.1) | 26845 (16.9) | |
| Geographic location | 0.42b | ||||
| Northeast | 1111 (9.7) | 9105 (22.2) | 12405 (16.2) | 24380 (15.4) | |
| Midwest | 2543 (22.2) | 8290 (20.2) | 19201 (25.1) | 26831 (16.9) | |
| South | 6324 (55.1) | 16096 (39.2) | 31671 (41.3) | 70779 (44.6) | |
| West | 1498 (13.1) | 7575 (18.5) | 13329 (17.4) | 36776 (23.2) | |
| Teaching hospital status | 1143 (10) | 9737 (23.7) | 20801 (27.2) | 76506 (48.2) | 0.37b |
| Specialty of attending physician | 0.17b | ||||
| Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine | 194 (1.7) | 1861 (4.5) | 4187 (5.5) | 11671 (7.4) | |
| Cardiology | 97 (0.9) | 286 (0.7) | 868 (1.1) | 1743 (1.1) | |
| Other Medical Specialty | 10878 (94.8) | 37965 (92.5) | 69261 (90.4) | 139625 (87.9) | |
| Surgery | 307 (2.7) | 954 (2.3) | 2290 (3) | 5727 (3.6) | |
| Nonhealthcare facility point of origin | 9163 (79.8) | 34354 (83.7) | 61693 (80.5) | 128385 (80.9) | 0.1b |
| Intensive Care Unit Stay | 5800 (50.5) | 20469 (49.8) | 36907 (48.2) | 68943 (43.4) | 0.01 |
| Prevalent Comorbidity [mean (SD)] | 2.9 (1.8) | 2.9 (1.8) | 3 (1.9) | 3 (1.8) | 0.01 |
| Diabetes Mellitus | 4298 (37.5) | 15445 (37.6) | 29579 (38.6) | 60722 (38.3) | 0.003 |
| Hypertension | 7453 (64.9) | 26533 (64.6) | 50833 (66.4) | 105283 (66.3) | 0.007 |
| Heart failure | 3067 (26.7) | 11369 (27.7) | 21316 (27.8) | 45033 (28.4) | 0.02 |
| Ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack | 192 (1.7) | 741 (1.8) | 1344 (1.8) | 2965 (1.9) | 0.01 |
| Atrial Fibrillation | 2494 (21.7) | 9057 (22.1) | 16020 (20.9) | 3341 (21.1) | 0.008 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 3149 (27.4) | 11210 (27.3) | 21286 (27.8) | 43221 (27.2) | 0.003 |
| Renal insufficiency | 4337 (37.8) | 15047 (36.6) | 29900 (39) | 59990 (37.8) | 0.02 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 3883 (33.8) | 13607 (33.1) | 24163 (31.5) | 49006 (30.9) | 0.01 |
| Valvular heart disease | 892 (7.8) | 3165 (7.7) | 6367 (8.3) | 13154 (8.3) | 0.003 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 1125 (9.8) | 4441 (10.8) | 8933 (11.7) | 17721 (11.2) | 0.03 |
| Venous thromboembolic disease | 228 (2) | 860 (2.1) | 1947 (2.5) | 4466 (2.8) | 0.008 |
| Cancer | 1124 (9.8) | 4664 (11.4) | 9000 (11.8) | 20464 (12.9) | 0.05 |
| Dementia | 811 (7.1) | 2712 (6.6) | 4903 (6.4) | 9656 (6.1) | 0.02 |
| Cirrhosis | 545 (4.8) | 2101 (5.1) | 4117 (5.4) | 9105 (5.7) | 0.02 |
| Additional acute organ failures [mean (SD)] | 1.4 (0.9) | 1.6 (0.9) | 1.6 (1) | 1.6 (1) | 0.15b |
| Shock requiring vasopressor within the first 48 hours of hospitalization | 2837 (24.7) | 12379 (30.1) | 22128 (28.9) | 45068 (28.4) | 0.12b |
| Only 1 vasopressor during first hospital day (septic shock subgroup) [n (%) of total requiring vasopressor] | 2177 (76.7) | 8884 (71.8) | 15736 (71.1) | 31248 (69.3) | 0.11b |
| Respiratory | 2982 (26) | 12304 (30) | 23356 (30.5) | 49750 (31.3) | 0.09 |
| Renal | 7688 (67) | 27821 (67.8) | 53293 (69.6) | 108629 (68.4) | 0.02 |
| Neurologic | 1513 (13.2) | 6380 (15.5) | 13227 (17.3) | 29306 (18.5) | 0.07 |
| Hematologic | 1798 (15.7) | 6868 (16.7) | 13001 (17) | 27966 (17.6) | 0.03 |
| Metabolic/acidosis | 1907 (16.6) | 8763 (21.3) | 17232 (22.5) | 35918 (22.6) | 0.12b |
| Hepatic | 403 (3.5) | 1771 (4.3) | 3377 (4.4) | 6939 (4.4) | 0.04 |
| Mechanical Ventilation (Day 1) | 958 (8.4) | 5274 (12.8) | 10087 (13.2) | 20726 (13.1) | 0.15b |
| Length of stay [mean days (SD)] | 6.9 (7.5) | 8.5 (9.1) | 9.1 (10.1) | 9.3 (10.8) | 0.19b |
| Year of sepsis hospitalization | 0.03 | ||||
| 2010 | 2132 (18.6) | 7191 (17.5) | 14445 (18.9) | 30870 (19.4) | |
| 2011 | 4376 (38.1) | 16114 (39.2) | 30644 (40) | 62784 (39.5) | |
| 2012 | 4968 (43.3) | 17761 (43.3) | 31517 (41.1) | 65112 (41) | |
| Died during hospitalization | 1628 (14.2) | 6958 (16.9) | 13012 (17) | 26348 (16.6) | 0.08 |
a
Absolute standardized difference ≥ 0.1 denotes a significant difference between groups.
b
Significant difference between groups.
IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation.