Skip to main content
. 2020 Jun 25;28:59. doi: 10.1186/s13049-020-00745-6

Table 2.

Association between 21 variables and sepsisa among 551b ambulance patients with suspected infection

Variable Category Crude Univariable, unadjusted Multivariable, adjusted
n = 551 P-value n = 551 Adjusted for all factors that were significant in the univariable analysis,n = 484
nc % sepsis OR 95% CI P-value OR 95% CI
Keywords related to medical history
 Fever or suspected fever yesd 417 45.1 0.005 1.8 1.2–2.7 0.98 1.0 0.6–1.7
no 134 31.3 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Pain yesd 277 43.0 0.53 1.1 0.8–1.6 – – –
no 273 40.3 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Acute altered mental status yesd 344 49.4 < 0.001 2.4 1.7–3.5 0.03 1.8 1.1–2.9
no 207 29.0 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Weakness of the legs yesd 442 44.6 0.007 1.9 1.2–2.9 0.61 1.2 0.6–2.1
no 109 30.3 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Breathing difficulties yesd 299 48.2 0.001 1.8 1.3–2.6 0.24 1.3 0.8–2.2
no 250 34.0 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Loss of energy yesd 501 43.1 0.04 2.0 1.0–3.7 0.79 1.1 0.5–2.6
no 50 28.0 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Gastrointestinal symptoms yesd 214 52.8 < 0.001 2.1 1.5–2.3.0 0.006 1.9 1.2–2.9
no 336 34.8 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Risk factors for sepsis yesd 256 47.7 0.008 1.6 1.1–2.2 0.46 1.2 0.8–1.9
no 293 36.5 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
Vital signs
 Respiratory rate > 24 breaths/min yes 189 56.1 < 0.001 2.4 1.7–3.5 0.53 1.2 0.7–2.0
no 361 34.3 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Oxygen saturation < 94% yes 232 55.6 < 0.001 2.8 1.9–3.9 0.08 1.6 1.0–2.5
no 319 31.2 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Heart rate > 110 beats/min yes 106 58.1 < 0.001 2.3 1.5–3.5 0.09 1.6 0.9–2.8
no 446 37.8 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Systolic blood pressure ≤ 100 mmHg yes 54 68.5 < 0.001 3.4 1.9–6.3 0.001 3.6 1.7–7.6
no 496 38.7 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Level of consciousness, GCS <15 yes 115 67.0 < 0.001 3.8 2.4–5.8 < 0.001 3.5 2.0–6.2
no 416 35.0 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
Temperature, °C < 0.001
  ≤ 38.0 yes 235 27.0 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 38.1–38.5 yes 91 41.8 0.01 1.9 1.2–3.2 0.02 2.2 1.1–4.2
  > 38.5 yes 223 56.1 < 0.001 3.4 2.3–5.1 < 0.001 3.3 2.0–5.6
POC-tests
 P-Glucose > 6.5 mmol/L yes 410 42.7 0.10 1.5 0.9–2.3 – – –
no 105 33.7 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
P-Lactate, mmol/L 0.08 –
  ≤ 2.0 yes 340 36.1 Ref Ref Ref – Ref
 2.1–4.0 yes 160 46.3 0.03 1.5 1.0–2.2 0.35 1.3 0.8–2.1
  > 4.0 yes 38 76.3 < 0.001 5.7 2.6–12.4 0.03 2.8 1.1–7.3
P-suPAR, ng/mL 0.31
  < 4.0 yes 184 30.4 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 4.0–7.99 yes 263 41.4 0.02 1.6 1.1–2.4 0.41 1.2 0.8–2.0
  ≥ 8.0 yes 93 64.5 < 0.001 4.2 2.4–7.1 0.13 1.7 0.9–3.4
 P-HBP ≥15.0 ng/mL yes 235 52.8 < 0.001 2.3 1.6–3.2 0.37 1.2 0.8–2.0
no 290 33.1 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
Demographic variables
 Age ≥ 65 years yes 474 41.6 0.83 0.9 0.6–1.5 – – –
no 77 42.9 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Gender, male yes 331 43.8 0.23 1.2 0.9–1.8 – – –
no 220 38.6 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –
 Charlson comorbidity score ≥ 5 points yes 86 55.8 0.004 2.0 1.2–3.1 0.13 1.6 0.9–3.1
no 465 39.1 Ref Ref Ref – Ref –

OR Odds Ratio, CI Confidence Interval, Ref Reference, GCS Glasgow Coma Scale, suPAR soluble urokinase Plasminogen Activating Receptor, HBP Heparin Binding Protein

aSepsis is defined in accordance with Sepsis-3 as a) infection + ≥2 SOFA criteria, or b) infection + vasopressor need and lactate > 2 (septic shock)

bOf total 553 patients with infection according to clinical judgment by ambulance personnel, 551 patients had the required documentation to determine whether the patient had sepsis or not. These 551 patients were included in the regression analysis

cof patients with documentation of the variable

dPatients that were not able to answer yes or no were included in the yes-category in the logistic regression and classification tree analyses (11–30 patients/keyword), based on similarity in prevalence of sepsis and overlapping CIs in these groups

Significant P-values are bolded