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. 2020 Jul 19;10(7):e036276. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036276

Table 3.

Comparison between patients with and without an adverse outcome*

General Adverse outcome (n=48, 14.2%) No adverse outcome (n=291, 85.8%) P value
Age (years) 68 (60–82) 68 (52–77) 0.35
Male 21 (43.8) 130 (44.7) 0.91
Comorbidities (CCI) 2 (1–3) 1 (0–2) 0.08
Referral pathway
Referred by GP 35 (72.9) 233 (80.1) 0.26
Transport by EMS 35 (72.9) 158 (54.3) 0.02
Referral pathway 0.05
 GP, EMS and ED 22 (45.8) 100 (34.4)
 GP and ED 13 (27.1) 133 (45.7)
 EMS and ED 13 (27.1) 58 (19.9)
EMS dispatch code† 0.88
 A1 15 (45.5) 62 (40.8)
 A2 14 (42.4) 69 (45.4)
 B 4 (12.1) 21 (13.8)
ED
qSOFA ≥2 20 (41.7) 27 (9.3) <0.001
SIRS ≥2 48 (100.0) 288 (99.0) 0.48
‘Sepsis’ documentation
Documentation of ‘sepsis’ in:
 GP letter‡ 6/31 (19.4) 29/221 (13.1) 0.35
 EMS chart§ 6/35 (17.1) 27/156 (17.3) 0.98
 ED chart 23/48 (47.9) 40/291 (13.7) <0.001
‘Sepsis’ documented in ≥1 medical record 26 (54.2) 66 (22.7) <0.001
Sense of urgency documentation
Sense of urgency in:
 GP letter‡ 17/31 (54.8) 61/221 (27.6) 0.002
 EMS chart§ 17/35 (48.6) 29/156 (18.6) <0.001
 ED chart 27/48 (56.3) 24/291 (8.2) <0.001
Sense of urgency in ≥1 medical record 35 (72.9) 88 (30.2) <0.001

*Values are n (%) for ordinal variables and median (IQR) for continuous variables, unless otherwise specified.

†n=185 (8 missing).

‡16 missing.

§2 missing.

CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; ED, emergency department; EMS, emergency medical services; GP, general practitioner; qSOFA, quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment; SIRS, Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome.