Demographics | | |
Age, years, median (IQR) | 80 (74–85) | 79 (68–86) |
Sex, n (%) | | |
Male | 93 (62) | 123 (60) |
Female | 58 (38) | 83 (40) |
|
Comorbidities, n (%) | | |
Diabetes | 55 (36) | 49 (24) |
COPD | 22 (15) | 40 (19) |
Cardiac disease | 63 (42) | 59 (29) |
Cerebrovascular accident | 33 (22) | 39 (19) |
Malignancy | 19 (13) | 30 (15) |
Chronic kidney disease | 43 (28) | 49 (24) |
Dementia | 25 (17) | 18 (8.7) |
Immunosuppressive use | 6 (4.0) | 7 (3.4) |
|
Final diagnosis, n (%) | | |
Respiratory tract infection | 61 (40) | 74 (36) |
Urinary tract infection | 45 (30) | 47 (23) |
Abdominal infection | 12 (7.9) | 7 (3.4) |
Skin/soft tissue infection | 11 (7.3) | 17 (8.3) |
Infection with unknown source | 11 (7.3) | 25 (12) |
Other source of infection | 11 (7.3) | 8 (3.9) |
Non-infectious diagnosis | — | 28 (14) |
|
Candidate predictors | | |
Tympanic temperature, °C, mean (SD) | 39.0 (0.7) | 38.5 (1.0) |
Systolic blood pressure, mmHg, mean (SD)a | 135 (25) | 139 (24) |
Heart rate, beats/min, mean (SD) | 100 (20) | 96 (20) |
Respiratory rate, breaths/min, mean (SD)a | 26 (6) | 23 (7) |
Peripheral oxygen saturation, %, median (IQR)b | 93 (90–95) | 95 (93–97) |
Altered mental status, n (%) | 81 (54) | 46 (22) |
Rigors, n (%) | 100 (66) | 123 (60) |
Rapid illness progression, yes, n (%) | 127 (84) | 144 (70) |
Lactate, mmol/L, median (IQR)a | 1.6 (1.1–2.1) | 1.3 (0.9–1.7) |
C-reactive protein, mg/L, median (IQR)c | 85 (34–145) | 57 (20–114) |
Procalcitonin, ng/mL, median (IQR)d | 0.25 (0.09–1.20) | 0.08 (0.03–0.22) |
Time to blood collection, minutes, median (IQR) | 50 (26–65) | 45 (15–65) |
|
Secondary outcomes, n (%) | | |
Hospital admission | 134 (89) | 76 (37) |
Length of stay, days, median (IQR) | 5.2 (3.1–8.3) | 4.5 (2.5–6.5) |
ICU admission within 72 hours | 11 (7.3) | 1 (0.5) |
30-day mortality | 13 (8.6) | 8 (3.9) |