Table 1.
Cohort Characteristics
| Characteristic | Total (N = 962) |
PCT Not Done (N = 351) |
Low PCT (N = 370) |
P Valuea |
Elevated PCT (N = 241) |
P Valueb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median y (IQR) | 62 (49–74) | 57 (44–70) | 62 (49–75) | <.01 | 68 (55–82) | <.01 |
| Sex, female, no. (%) | 448 (47) | 179 (51) | 182 (49) | .62 | 87 (36) | <.01 |
| Race, no. (%) | <.01 | .88 | ||||
| White | 299 (31) | 93 (26) | 138 (37) | 68 (28) | ||
| Black | 337 (35) | 144 (41) | 95 (28) | 98 (29) | ||
| Other | 326 (34) | 114 (32) | 137 (37) | 75 (31) | ||
| Latino/Hispanic ethnicity, no. (%) | 269 (28) | 99 (28) | 112(30) | .54 | 58 (24) | .27 |
| Long-term care resident, no. (%) | 181 (19) | 42 (12) | 73 (20) | <.01 | 66 (27) | <.01 |
| Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–0) | <.01 | 0 (0–1) | .57 |
| Intensive care unit admission, no. (%) | 113 (12) | 26 (7) | 33 (9) | .45 | 54 (22) | <.01 |
| WHO disease severity, no. (%)c | .05 | <.01 | ||||
| Mild | 757 (79) | 282 (80) | 317 (86) | 158 (66) | ||
| Severe | 205 (21) | 69 (20) | 53 (14) | 83 (34) | ||
| Immuncompromising condition, no. (%)d | 53 (6) | 31 (9) | 16(4) | .01 | 6 (11) | <.01 |
| Hospital A | 241 (25) | 241 (100) | … | NA | … | NA |
| Hospital B | 157 (16) | 18 (5) | 100 (27) | 39 (16) | ||
| Hospital C | 222 (23) | 14 (4) | 122 (33) | 86 (36) | ||
| Hospital D | 257 (27) | 56 (16) | 106 (29) | 95 (39) | ||
| Hospital E | 85 (9) | 22 (6) | 42 (11) | 21 (9) | ||
| C-reactive protein maximum value (mg/dL) ≤48 h, median (IQR) | 13.5 (5.9–34.6) | 10.1 (4.6–21) | 12.4 (5.3–27.5) | .04 | 24.8 (11.4–137) | <.01 |
| Temperature ≥38oC, no. (%) | 543 (56) | 196 (56) | 193 (52) | .32 | 154 (64) | .05 |
| Purulent sputum, no. (%) | 34 (5) | 16 (6) | 7 (2) | .04 | 11 (5) | .74 |
| Peripheral WBC ≥12,000, no. (%) | 1,140 (15) | 43 (12) | 13 (6) | .04 | 84 (21) | <.01 |
| Any consolidative opacity, no. (%) | 169 (18) | 75 (21) | 59 (16) | .06 | 35 (15) | .03 |
| bCAP adjudication, no. (%) | .92 | <.01 | ||||
| Proven/probable bCAP | 11 (1) | 2 (1) | 3 (1) | 6 (2) | ||
| Possible bCAP | 457 (48) | 159 (45) | 164 (44) | 134 (56) | ||
| No bCAP coinfection | 494 (51) | 190 (54) | 203 (55) | 101 (42) |
Note. IQR, interquartile range; WBC, white blood cell count; bCAP, bacterial community acquired pneumonia; WHO, World Health Organization.
P values for comparisons between PCT negative and no PCT groups.
P values for comparison between PCT positive to no PCT group.
The WHO scale is an 8-point ordinal severity scale, mild includes WHO score of 3 (not on oxygen) or 4 (on nasal cannula or facemask oxygen) while severe disease includes WHO score 5 (high-flow nasal cannula or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation), 6 (intubation and mechanical ventilation), and 7 (intubated; mechanical ventilation; and other signs of organ failure, including use of extracorporeal membrane oxygen, hemodialysis, or vasopressors).
Immunocompromising condition includes HIV/AIDS, receipt of biologics, prednisone ≥ 20mg daily for ≥ 2 weeks, chemotherapy within 6 months, and solid-organ or hematopoietic stem-cell transplant.