Table 2. Vital signs1 at baseline in 2,196 consecutive adult patients with suspected community onset bacterial infection treated with intravenous antibiotics.
Results are presented also for patients with severe sepsis and Sepsis-3 sepsis. Values listed are medians (IQR) for all but RLS where the number of patients with RLS ≥2 are used.
| Suspected bacterial infection, all | Severe sepsis | Not severe sepsis | p-value | Sepsis-3 sepsis | Not Sepsis-3 sepsis | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients, N | 2,196 | 429 | 1,767 | 1,299 | 897 | ||
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 99 (85–111) | 107 (93–122) | 97 (84–109) | <0.001 | 100 (88–115) | 96 (83–107) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 130 (112–148) | 116 (95–140) | 133 (118–150) | <0.001 | 126 (108–145) | 136 (120–150) | <0.001 |
| Respiratory rate (breaths/min) | 24 (20–30) | 30 (24–36) | 24 (20–28) | <0.001 | 26 (22–32) | 20 (18–24) | <0.001 |
| Saturation (%) | 94 (90–96) | 89 (83–94) | 94 (91–96) | <0.001 | 91 (87–94) | 96 (95–97) | <0.001 |
| Altered mental status (RLS ≥2) | 242 (11) | 135 (30) | 107 (6) | <0.001 | 212 (16) | 22 (2) | <0.001 |
| Temperature (°C) | 38.0 (37.1–38.8) | 37.9 (37.0–38.8) | 38.1 (37.1–38.8) | <0.01 | 38.1 (37.2–38.8) | 37.9 (37.0–38.6) | <0.01 |
| History of fever | |||||||
| Yes N (%) | 1,486 (68) | 242 (56) | 1,244 (70) | 848 (65) | 638 (71) | ||
| No N (%) | 448 (20) | 99 (23) | 349 (20) | <0.001 | 266 (21) | 182 (20) | <0.001 |
| No information N (%) | 262 (12) | 88 (20) | 174 (10) | 185 (14) | 77 (8) |
1For any single vital sign, the percentage for which data were missing was <4%. IQR, Interquartile range; RLS, Reaction Level Scale.