Table 3.
Sensitivity, Specificity, and Positive (PPV) and Negative Predictive Values (NPV) for severe sepsis by different identification tools in the Emergency department (n = 108 cases of severe sepsis among 1535 patients)
| Identification tool | Ability to identify severe sepsis | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV | NPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (% of 108 cases) | (95% CI) | (95% CI) | (95% CI) | (95% CI) | |
| SIRS ≥2 (without leukocytes) | 80 (74.1%) | 0.74 (0.65-0.82) | 0.72 (0.70-0.75) | 0.18 (0.16-0.19) | 0.97 (0.96-0.98) |
| qSOFA ≥2a | 33 (30.6%) | 0.32 (0.23-0.42) | 0.98 (0.97-0.99) | 0.57 (0.45-0.68) | 0.95 (0.94-0.96) |
| Red triage | 37 (34.3%) | 0.34 (0.25-0.44) | 0.95 (0.94-0.96) | 0.35 (0.27-0.43) | 0.95 (0.94-0.95) |
| Orange triage | 55 (50.9%) | 0.51 (0.41-0.61) | 0.60 (0.58-0.63) | 0.09 (0.07-0.11) | 0.94 (0.93-0.95) |
| ≥ Orange triage | 92 (85.2%) | 0.85 (0.77-0.91) | 0.55 (0.52-0.58) | 0.13 (0.12-0.14) | 0.98 (0.97-0.99) |
aThe ability to identify sepsis in % is calculated based on 108 cases of sepsis in the total population, whilst the sensitivity analysis is based on the 103 cases with complete score on qSOFA