Table 2. Characteristics of patients with infection categorized by qSOFA and sepsis.
| Characteristics | qSOFA(−)Sepsis(−) (n=610) | qSOFA(+)Sepsis(−) (n=171) | qSOFA(−)Sepsis(+) (n=466) | qSOFA(+)Sepsis(+) (n=469) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, year, median [IQR] | 76.5 [56–84] | 81 [68.5–85]**,‡ | 81 [73–85]**,† | 82 [75–87]** |
| Male sex, n (%) | 326 (53.4) | 88 (51.5)† | 287 (61.6)** | 287 (61.2)* |
| Body mass index (BMI), kg/m2, median [IQR] | 24 [21–27] | 21 [19–24]** | 23 [21–26] | 23 [19–25]** |
| Type of hospital admission, n (%) | ||||
| Medical | 533 (87.4) | 158 (92.4) | 437 (93.8)** | 425 (90.6) |
| Elective surgery | 68 (11.1) | 7 (4.1)** | 25 (5.4)** | 28 (6.0)** |
| Emergency surgery | 9 (1.5) | 6 (3.5) | 4 (0.9)‡ | 16 (3.4)* |
| McCabe and Jackson classification, n (%) | ||||
| Nonfatal | 405 (66.4) | 119 (69.6) | 357 (76.6)**,† | 329 (70.1) |
| Ultimately fatal | 91 (14.9) | 21 (12.3)‡ | 73 (15.7)† | 104 (22.2)** |
| Rapidly fatal | 10 (1.6) | 12 (7.0)**,† | 7 (1.5) | 16 (3.4) |
| Charlson comorbidity index, median [IQR] | 1 [0–3] | 2 [1–3]* | 2 [1–3]*,† | 2 [1–3]** |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| None | 139 (22.8) | 23 (13.5)** | 37 (7.9)** | 45 (9.7)** |
| Hypertension | 305 (50.0) | 90 (52.6) | 274 (58.4)** | 281 (60.3)** |
| Diabetes | 159 (26.1) | 47 (27.5) | 97 (20.7)*,‡ | 151 (32.4)* |
| Malignancy | 93 (15.2) | 31 (18.1)† | 95 (20.3)* ,‡ | 55 (11.8) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 196 (32.1) | 77 (45.0)**,† | 198 (42.2)**,‡ | 160 (34.3) |
| Coronary heart disease | 144 (23.6) | 62 (36.3)** | 171 (36.5)** | 173 (37.1)** |
| Chronic lung disease | 117 (19.2) | 33 (19.3) | 118 (25.2)* | 117 (25.1)* |
| Peptic ulcer | 71 (11.6) | 16 (9.4)† | 41 (8.7)‡ | 20 (4.3)** |
| Rheumatic disease | 17 (2.8) | 2 (1.2)† | 26 (5.5)* | 21 (4.5) |
| Hematologic malignancy | 7 (1.1) | 0 (0)† | 11 (2.3) | 14 (3.0)* |
| Dementia | 32 (5.2) | 1 (0.6)**,‡ | 49 (10.4)** | 41 (8.8)* |
| Chronic organ dysfunction, n (%) | ||||
| None | 525 (86.1) | 134 (78.4) | 364 (78.1) | 343 (73.1)** |
| Cardiovascular | 4 (0.7) | 4 (2.3) | 9 (1.9)† | 20 (4.3)** |
| Liver | 11 (1.8) | 2 (1.2) | 12 (2.6) | 7 (1.5) |
| Respiratory | 22 (3.6) | 20 (11.7)**,‡ | 20 (4.3)‡ | 45 (9.6)** |
| Renal | 10 (1.6) | 0 (0) | 26 (5.6)** | 19 (4.1)* |
| Immunosuppression | 45 (7.4) | 17 (10.0) | 41 (8.8) | 48 (10.2) |
| Site of infection, n (%) | ||||
| Lower respiratory tract infection | 382 (62.6) | 136 (79.5)** | 342 (73.4)**,‡ | 388 (82.7)** |
| Urogenital tract infection | 72 (11.8) | 30 (17.5)*,‡ | 32 (6.9)** | 19 (4.1)** |
| Intra-abdominal infection | 44 (7.2) | 11 (6.4) | 39 (8.4) | 41 (8.7) |
| Upper respiratory infection | 29 (4.8) | 3 (1.8) | 22 (4.7)‡ | 2 (0.4)** |
| Gastroenteritis | 36 (5.9) | 2 (1.2)* | 14 (3.0) | 16 (3.4) |
| Skin and soft tissue infection | 24 (3.9) | 2 (1.2) | 5 (1.1)** | 1 (0.2)** |
| Bacteremia | 30 (4.9) | 6 (3.5) | 12 (2.6)*,‡ | 36 (7.7) |
| Other | 25 (4.6) | 6 (3.5) | 19 (4.1) | 14 (3.0) |
| Positive cultures, n (%) | 168 (27.5) | 82 (48.0)** | 118 (25.3)‡ | 261 (55.7)** |
| Invasive ventilation, n (%) | 8 (1.3) | 9 (5.3)**,‡ | 18 (3.9)**,‡ | 194 (41.4)** |
| ICU admission, n (%) | 4 (0.7) | 1 (0.6)‡ | 40 (8.6)**,‡ | 183 (39.0)** |
| Septic shock, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 56 (12.0)‡ | 261 (55.7) |
| Hospital length of stay, median [IQR] | 16 [9–27] | 27 [15–40] | 17 [10–29] | 24 [12–45]* |
| In-hospital mortality, n (%) | 16 (2.6) | 38 (22.2)**,‡ | 34 (7.3)**,‡ | 265 (56.5)** |
*P<0.05, **P<0.01, compared with qSOFA(−)sepsis(−); †P<0.05, ‡P<0.01, compared with qSOFA(+)sepsis(+).