Table 1.
Clinical data in survivors and non-surviving necrotizing soft-tissue infection patients.
| Variable | Total NSTI patients (N = 135) | Survivors (N = 104) | Non-survivors (N = 31) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 61.0 [52.0–69.0] | 61.0 [50.0–67.5] | 67.0 [58.0–70.0] | 0.0693 |
| Sex, male | 84 (62.2) | 63 (60.6) | 21 (67.7) | 0.4702 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2a | 26.1 [23.5–31.1] | 25.6 [23.4–30.9] | 27.8 [24.8–33.6] | 0.0660 |
| Active smoker | 40 (29.6) | 34 (32.7) | 6 (19.4) | 0.3023 |
| High alcohol consumptionab | 19 (19.6) | 17 (22.4) | 2 (9.5) | 0.1892 |
| Chronic disease | 86 (63.7) | 63 (60.6) | 23 (74.2) | 0.1664 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 58 (43.0) | 41 (39.4) | 17 (54.8) | 0.1281 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 14 (10.4) | 9 (8.7) | 5 (16.1) | 0.2308 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 12 (8.9) | 6 (5.8) | 6 (19.4) | 0.0197 |
| Diabetes | 30 (22.2) | 20 (19.2) | 10 (32.3) | 0.1257 |
| Immune deficiency/AIDS | 3 (2.2) | 3 (2.9) | 0 (0.0) | 1.0000F |
| Liver cirrhosis | 5 (3.7) | 3 (2.9) | 2 (6.5) | 0.3236F |
| Malignancy | 15 (11.1) | 12 (11.5) | 3 (9.7) | 0.7723 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 20 (14.8) | 13 (12.5) | 7 (22.6) | 0.1655 |
| Rheumatoid disease | 10 (7.4) | 8 (7.7) | 2 (6.5) | 0.8169 |
| Hemoglobin, mmol/L, lowest value | 2.2 [1.2–4.5] | 1.9 [1.2–3.2] | 4.3 [1.6–14.5] | 0.0017 |
| Na+, mmol/L, lowest value | 5.7 [4.9–6.5] | 5.8 [5.0–6.6] | 5.2 [4.3–6.1] | 0.0216 |
| K+, mmol/L, lowest value | 136.0 [132.0–138.0] | 136.0 [132.0–138.0] | 135.0 [131.0–139.0] | 0.9979 |
| Glucose, mmol/L, highest value | 4.3 [4.0–4.9] | 4.3 [4.0–4.6] | 4.8 [3.8–5.5] | 0.0617 |
| Creatinine μmol/l, highest valuea | 8.3 [7.1–11.5] | 8.3 [7.1–11.5] | 8.2 [6.7–14.5] | 0.8856 |
| pO2, kPa, from lowest PaO2/FiO2 ratioa | 119.0 [77.0–205.0] | 101.0 [72.0–166.0] | 216.0 [128.0–262.0] | 0.0003 |
| pH, lowest value | 13.7 [10.9–19.6] | 13.2 [10.9–18.6] | 14.0 [9.4–22.3] | 0.8351 |
| Base excess, mmol/L, lowest valuea | 7.3 [7.2–7.4] | 7.3 [7.2–7.4] | 7.2 [7.1–7.3] | 0.0014 |
| Lactate, mmol/L, highest value | −5.5 [−9.4–−1.8] | −4.8 [−7.7–−1.6] | −10.2 [−13.9–−5.1] | 0.0003 |
| Steroid treatmenta | 16 (11.9) | 9 (8.7) | 7 (23.3) | 0.0825F |
| Immunosupressing drugsa | 12 (9.0) | 10 (9.6) | 2 (6.7) | 1.0000F |
| Ventilator treatment | 122 (90.4) | 91 (87.5) | 31 (100.0) | 0.0384F |
| Renal replacement therapy | 34 (25.2) | 18 (17.3) | 16 (51.6) | 0.0001 |
| Amputation | 27 (20.0) | 18 (17.3) | 9 (29.0) | 0.1520 |
| Septic shockc | 96 (71.1) | 74 (71.2) | 22 (71.0) | 0.9840 |
| SAPS IIa | 45.0 [35.0–52.0] | 40.5 [32.0–48.5] | 59.0 [48.0–76.0] | <0.0001 |
| SOFA score day 1a | 7.0 [4.0–9.0] | 7.0 [4.0–9.0] | 10.0 [8.0–12.0] | <0.0001 |
| Primary site of infection | ||||
| Head/neck | 21 (15.6) | 16 (15.4) | 5 (16.1) | 0.9200 |
| Chest | 5 (3.7) | 3 (2.9) | 2 (6.5) | 0.3236F |
| Abdomen | 11 (8.1) | 8 (7.7) | 3 (9.7) | 0.7229 |
| Genitals/Perineum | 36 (26.7) | 31 (29.8) | 5 (16.1) | 0.1306 |
| Upper extremity | 15 (11.1) | 14 (13.5) | 1 (3.2) | 0.1115 |
| Lower extremity | 47 (34.8) | 32 (30.8) | 15 (48.4) | 0.0707 |
| Microbiology | ||||
| Positive tissue or blood cultures | 102 (75.6) | 78 (75.0) | 24 (77.4) | 0.7832 |
| Polymicrobial infectiona | 57 (55.9) | 43 (55.1) | 14 (58.3) | 0.7821 |
| Staphylococcus aureusa | 17 (16.7) | 13 (16.7) | 4 (16.7) | 1.0000F |
| Group A Streptococcusa | 36 (35.3) | 32 (41.0) | 4 (16.7) | 0.0290 |
| Gram negative rodsa | 27 (26.5) | 18 (23.1) | 9 (37.5) | 0.1613 |
| Obligate anaerobesa | 32 (31.4) | 24 (30.8) | 8 (33.3) | 0.8129 |
| Other bacteriaa | 21 (20.6) | 15 (19.2) | 6 (25.0) | 0.5410F |
Values presented as Median [IQR] or N (column %) with Fisher's Exact-test (F) or Pearson's chi-square test.
Data not available for all subjects. Missing values: Body mass index (n = 5): High alcohol consumption (n = 38), creatinine (n = 4), pO2 (n = 10), pH (n = 5), base excess (n = 5), lactate (n = 5), SOFA score (n = 6), steroid treatment (n = 1), Immunosuppresing drugs (n = 1), SAPS II (n = 5), SOFA score day 1 (n = 6), and positive tissue or blood cultures (n = 33).
High alcohol consumption: >14 units of alcohol/week (women); >21 units of alcohol/week (men).
Septic shock as defined by sepsis criteria by Bone et al. (18).
SAPS II, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; NSTI, Necrotizing soft tissue infection.