Table 1.
Admission demographic patient characteristics
| Patient characteristics | All | Low cDPP3 | High cDPP3 | p value* | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epidemiological data | n = 581 | n = 436 | n = 145 | ||
| cDPP3 at admission (ng/mL) | 26.5 [16.2–40.4] | 19.8 [14.5–28.9] | 67.7 [48.7–120.7] | – | |
| Age (year) | 66 [55–75] | 66 [56–76] | 65 [53–75] | 0.2498 | |
| Male (no. %) | 363 (62.5) | 277 (63.5) | 86 (59.3) | 0.4176 | |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 25.7 [22.9–30.2] | 25.5 [22.7–30.1] | 26.1 [23.4–31.1] | 0.1363 | |
| Septic shock at admission (yes) | 292 (50.3) | 201 (46.1) | 91 (62.8) | 0.0007 | |
| Origin of sepsis | 0.0727 | ||||
| Lung | 218 (37.5) | 151 (34.6) | 67 (46.2) | ||
| Blood stream | 90 (15.5) | 76 (17.4) | 14 (9.7) | ||
| Urinary tract | 62 (10.7) | 43 (9.9) | 19 (13.1) | ||
| Catheter | 29 (5.0) | 22 (5) | 7 (4.8) | ||
| Peritonitis | 30 (5.2) | 23 (5.3) | 7 (4.8) | ||
| Endocarditis | 31 (5.3) | 23 (5.3) | 8 (5.5) | ||
| Other | 121 (20.8) | 98 (22.5) | 23 (15.9) | ||
| Medical history** | |||||
| Any cardiac comorbidity (yes) | 398 (68.5) | 300 (68.8) | 98 (67.6) | 0.8642 | |
| Chronic heart failure (yes) | 59 (10.2) | 38 (8.7) | 21 (14.5) | 0.0652 | |
| Hypertension (yes) | 292 (50.3) | 220 (50.5) | 72 (49.7) | 1.0000 | |
| Diabetes mellitus (yes) | 159 (27.4) | 122 (28) | 37 (25.5) | 0.6286 | |
| Any non-cardiac comorbidity (yes) | 413 (71.1) | 308 (70.6) | 105 (72.4) | 0.7627 | |
| Chronic renal disease (yes) | 76 (13.1) | 57 (13.1) | 19 (13.1) | 1.0000 | |
| Active/recent malignant tumors (yes) | 124 (21.3) | 96 (22) | 28 (19.3) | 0.6090 | |
| Smoking (active, yes) | 116 (20) | 88 (20.2) | 28 (19.3) | 0.9238 | |
| COPD (yes) | 89 (15.3) | 70 (16.1) | 19 (13.1) | 0.5267 | |
| Any chronic medication (yes) | 370 (63.7) | 281 (64.4) | 89 (61.4) | 0.5712 | |
| Immunosuppressive therapy (yes) | 46 (7.9) | 32 (7.3) | 14 (9.7) | 0.4733 | |
| Physiological values at admission | |||||
| Mean blood pressure (mmHg) | 75 [64–90] | 75 [65–90] | 76 [62–90] | 0.7372 | |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 104 [89–119] | 101 [88–117] | 108 [96–128] | 0.0005 | |
| Fluid balance (mL) | 1930 [600–3556] | 1800 [570–3270] | 2398 [805–4731] | 0.0059 | |
| Urine output for 24 h (mL) | 1000 [450–1900] | 1130 [571–2000] | 600 [202–1495] | < 0.0001 | |
| PaO2/FiO2 | 228 [137–342] | 237 [146–364] | 191 [111–300] | 0.0012 | |
| Laboratory values at admission | |||||
| Lactate (mmol/L) | 1.4 [1.0–2.2] | 1.3 [0.9–2] | 2.1 [1.2–3.48] | < 0.0001 | n = 560 |
| Arterial pH | 7.38 [7.30–7.44] | 7.4 [7.32–7.45] | 7.33 [7.24–7.41] | < 0.0001 | |
| Bilirubin (µmol/L) | 11 [6–19] | 10 [6–18] | 12 [7–22] | 0.1141 | |
| Platelets (109/L) | 190 [121–274] | 190 [123–273.75] | 190 [112–269] | 0.7341 | |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.35 [0.86–2.24] | 1.26 [0.81–2.05] | 1.71 [1.04–2.9] | 0.0001 | |
| BUN or urea (mg/dL) | 61.3 [37.0–106.3] | 58.3 [34.2–97] | 72 [44–120.1] | 0.0012 | |
| Hematocrit (%) | 34 [29–38] | 34 [29–38] | 35 [30–39] | 0.0395 | |
| White blood count (per mm3) | 12,480 [7200–18560] | 13,000 [7560–18600] | 11,350 [6810–17040] | 0.0958 | |
| Troponin T (ng/mL) | 42 [18–152] | 38 [17–129] | 54 [25–234] | 0.0786 | n = 152 |
| PCT (ng/mL) | 11.4 [1.9–49.8] | 9.1 [1.6–37.4] | 16.3 [3.6–70.0] | 0.0194 | n = 330 |
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 4382 [1525–11565] | 3339 [1294–7643] | 9589 [4863–20107] | 0.0003 | n = 117 |
| Organ support at admission | |||||
| Mechanical ventilation: | < 0.0001 | ||||
| Invasive | 217 (37.3) | 134 (30.7) | 83 (57.2) | ||
| Non-invasive | 131 (22.5) | 98 (22.5) | 33 (22.8) | ||
| None | 233 (40.1) | 204 (46.8) | 29 (20) | ||
| Renal replacement therapy | 49 (8.4) | 19 (4.4) | 30 (20.7) | < 0.0001 | |
| Vasopressors/inotropes at admission | 347 (59.7) | 246 (56.4) | 101 (69.7) | 0.0066 | |
| Organ dysfunction scores | |||||
| SOFA (points) | 7 [5–10] | 7 [4–9] | 9 [5–12] | < 0.0001 | n = 508 |
| APACHE II (points) | 15 [11–20] | 15 [11–19] | 18 [13–23] | < 0.0001 | |
| Length of stay (days) | |||||
| ICU | 5 [2–10] | 5 [2–8] | 6 [2–15] | 0.0487 | |
| Outcome | |||||
| AKI within 7 days | 359 (61.8) | 189 (56.6) | 113 (77.9) | < 0.0001 | |
| 28-day, deaths (%) | 126 (21.7) | 66 (15.1) | 60 (41.4) | < 0.0001 | |
| 90-day, deaths (%) | 165 (28.4) | 94 (21.6) | 71 (49) | < 0.0001 |
Comparisons were performed between patients with cDPP3 above (high cDPP3) and below (low cDPP3) 40.4 ng/mL (3rd quartile) upon admission. APACHE Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation, BNP Brain-derived natriuretic peptide, BUN Blood urea nitrogen, CNS Central nervous system, COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cDPP3 circulating Dipeptidyl peptidase 3, ICU Intensive care unit, NT-proBNP N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide, PaO2/ FiO2 Ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen, PCT Procalcitonin, SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Among the n = 121 patients with origin of sepsis labelled as “other”, source of infection were: bile duct infection (n = 12), CNS (n = 4), skin and soft tissue (n = 10), gynaecologic (n = 2), “unknown” (n = 26), abdominal (n = 53), and other origins with less than 3 counts each (n = 14). *p Value from nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis or chi-square test, respectively. ** Most common comorbidities reported individually