Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of community-dwelling patients with sepsis by level of prehospital care
| No Ambulance Care (n = 101) | Basic Life Support (n = 111) | Advanced Life Support (n = 149) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr, mean (SD) | 50.2 (14.1) | 56.7 (15.4) | 54.1 (15.3) |
| Female sex | 32 (31.7) | 42 (37.8) | 38 (25.5) |
| Nonwhite race or Hispanic | 53 (52.5) | 51 (45.9) | 57 (38.3) |
| Prehospital care | |||
| Prehospital intravenous access | — | 0 (0) | 125 (84.6) |
| Prehospital shock | — | 35 (31.5) | 77 (51.7) |
| EMS scene to ED arrival, min | — | 35.6 (16.8) | 41.8 (18.6) |
| Infection source | |||
| Pneumonia | 35 (34.6) | 22 (19.8) | 55 (36.9) |
| Soft tissue infection | 12 (11.9) | 18 (16.2) | 16 (10.8) |
| Intraabdominal infection | 10 (9.9) | 15 (13.5) | 4 (2.7) |
| Urinary tract infection | 11 (10.9) | 24 (21.6) | 13 (8.7) |
| Other/unknown | 33 (32.7) | 32 (28.8) | 61 (40.9) |
| ED admission data | |||
| Hypotension by ED arrival* | 21 (20.8) | 40 (36.0) | 88 (59.1) |
| First Glasgow Coma Score* | 15 (15–15) | 15 (15–15) | 12 (3–15) |
| Lactate, mmol/L† | 3.3 (1.9–5.7) | 4.2 (2.7–6.8) | 5.7 (3.5–8.9) |
| White blood cell count, 1,000/dl, mean (SD) | 15.7 (9.5) | 16.8 (10.0) | 15.9 (10.4) |
| SOFA score | 1 (0–4) | 3 (1–5) | 6 (3–9) |
| ED management data | |||
| Total intravenous fluid, L* | 4.0 (3.0–5.0) | 4.0 (3.0–5.0) | 4.1 (3.0–6.0) |
| Vasopressors* | 14 (13.9) | 26 (23.4) | 52 (34.9) |
| Resident physician involved in care | 62 (60.8) | 116 (74.8) | 203 (93.1) |
| Minutes to antibiotic initiation, mean (SD) | 195 (154) | 190 (122) | 114 (65) |
| Antibiotic initiation ≤3 h | 63 (62.4) | 62 (55.9) | 135 (90.6) |
| MEDS score, mean (SD) | 3.8 (3.1) | 5.0 (3.6) | 6.9 (3.5) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean (SD) | 2.2 (2.2) | 2.3 (2.1) | 2.4 (2.1) |
| Sepsis discharge diagnosis | 73 (72.3) | 83 (74.8) | 115 (77.2) |
| Death before discharge | 10 (9.9) | 21 (18.9) | 33 (22.1) |
| ED length of stay, min | 367 (293–522) | 387 (276–501) | 236 (191–330) |
| Hospital length of stay, d | 5.1 (3.0–11.8) | 6.5 (3.1–15.5) | 5.7 (2.5–12.8) |
Definition of abbreviations: ED = emergency department; EMS = emergency medical services; MEDS score = Mortality in Emergency Department Sepsis score; SD = standard deviation; SOFA = Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.
Values reported as n (%) or median (interquartile range) unless otherwise noted.
*
Includes all care in both ED and prehospital setting.
†
Lactate was measured in the hospital’s central laboratory. One patient had no lactate level measured.