Table 3.
Intercorrelations Among Bacterial Variables Significantly Associated With Illness Severity
| Population | UPECHM/ExPECJJ Considered?a | Variable (ρ for Correlation With Illness Severity) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Variableb | Correlated Variables,b Dominated by Primary Variable | ||
| Total (n = 292) | No or yes | fyuA (0.57) | Without UPECHM/ExPECJJ, none; with them, UPECHM (0.56), ExPECJJ (0.48) |
| kpsM II (0.49) | chuA (0.43) | ||
| usp (0.48) | vat (0.46), group B2 (0.46), malX (0.43), clbB (0.33), clbN (0.35) | ||
| K1 (0.41) | None | ||
| papAH (0.37) | papEF (0.37), papC (0.37), papG (0.33) | ||
| group B1 (–0.31) | None | ||
| Fecal (n = 116) | No | fyuA (0.63) | usp (0.59), vat (0.57), group B2 (0.52) |
| K1 (0.54) | None | ||
| malX (0.52) | None | ||
| kpsM II (0.50) | chuA (0.45) | ||
| clbN (0.48) | clbB (0.47) | ||
| group B1 (–0.40) | None | ||
| STc95 (0.36) | None | ||
| papAH (0.35) | papEF (0.34), papC (0.33) | ||
| iroN (0.31) | None | ||
| Yes | UPECHM (0.63) | fyuA (0.63), usp (0.59), group B2 (0.52) | |
| vat (0.57) | clbN (0.48), clbB (0.48) | ||
| ExPECJJ (0.56) | kpsM II (0.50) | ||
| malX (0.52) | None | ||
| group B1 (–0.40) | None | ||
| STc95 (0.36) | None | ||
| papAH (0.35) | papEF (0.37), papC (0.33) | ||
| iroN (0.31) | None | ||
| K1 (0.31) | None | ||
| Clinical (n = 176) | No or yes | fyuA (0.49) | Without UPECHM/ExPECJJ: none; with them: UPECHM (0.48), ExPECJJ (0.39) |
| kpsM II (0.46) | chuA (0.41) | ||
| group B2 (0.40)c | usp (0.40),cvat (0.37), malX (0.36) | ||
| papEF (0.36) | papC (0.36), papAH (0.35), papG (0.35) | ||
| K1 (0.31) | None | ||
ρ values of ≥ 0.30 were considered indicative of a statistical association with illness severity.
Abbreviations: ExPECJJ, extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli, as defined using James Johnson’s molecular definition; UPECHM, uropathogenic E. coli, as defined using Harry Mobley’s molecular definition.
aThe analysis was done with and without considering UPECHM and ExPECJJ as candidate predictor variables.
bDefinitions are as follows: fyuA, yersiniabactin receptor; kpsM II, group 2 capsule synthesis; usp, uropathogenic specific protein; K1, group 2 capsule variant; papAH, papC, papEF, papG, P fimbriae structural subunit, assembly, minor tip pilins, and tip adhesin; groups B1 and B2, phylogenetic groups; malX, pathogenicity island marker; clbN and clbB, colibactin synthesis; STc95, sequence type complex 95; iroN, salmochelin receptor; vat, vacuolating toxin; malX, pathogenicity island marker; chuA, heme uptake.
cAmong the clinical isolates, group B2 and usp yielded identical values for rho (0.398), but B2 dominated two alternate correlated variables (vat and malX), whereas usp dominated only one (malX). Accordingly, for parsimony, B2 was selected over usp for inclusion in the model.