Patient characteristics according to microbial infection
| Group 1 (n = 115) | Group 2 (n = 43) | Group 3 (n = 19) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are median (range) or number (percentage), where appropriate. | ||||
| Group 1, culture negative; group 2, local culture positive; group 3, bacteraemia (n = 7) or bacteraemia and positive local cultures (n = 12). | ||||
| CNS, central nervous system; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; WBC, white cell count. | ||||
| *p<0.001 for frequency and distribution of sources and microorganisms between groups (χ2 test); †p<0.05 (Kruksal-Wallis test); ‡p<0.005 (χ2 test). | ||||
| Age (years) | 63 (17−88) | 66 (24−97) | 71 (21−83) | |
| Sex (male/female) | 65/50 | 20/23 | 6/13 | |
| Non whites | 8 (7%) | 2 (5%) | 1 (5%) | |
| Underlying disease | ||||
| Cardiovascular | 27 (23%) | 10 (23%) | 5 (26%) | |
| Respiratory | 14 (12%) | 4 (9%) | 1 (5%) | |
| Urogenital | 16 (14%) | 8 (19%) | 4 (21%) | |
| Gastrointestinal | 4 (3%) | 4 (9%) | 1 (5%) | |
| Neurological | 12 (10%) | 6 (14%) | 1 (5%) | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (12%) | 8 (19%) | 6 (32%) | |
| HIV/AIDS | 7 (5%) | 1 (2%) | ||
| Cancer | 27 (23%) | 7 (16%) | 4 (21%) | |
| Autoimmune disease | 9 (8%) | 5 (12%) | 3 (16%) | |
| Recent treatment | ||||
| Recent surgery | 15 (13%) | 4 (9%) | ||
| Immunosuppressive treatment | 23 (20%) | 8 (19%) | 2 (11%) | |
| Previous antibiotic treatment | 21 (18%) | 10 (23%) | 3 (16%) | |
| Source of infection | 71 (62%)* | 43 (100%)* | 18 (95%)* | |
| Cardiovascular | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Lung | 41 | 21 | ||
| Urinary tract | 10 | 14 | 5 | |
| Soft tissue | 4 | 7 | 8 | |
| CNS | 2 | |||
| Gastrointestinal tract | 12 | 2 | ||
| Intravascular catheter | 1 | |||
| Associated microorganism | Local* | Blood* | Local* | |
| Gram positive | 5 (12%) | 11 (58%) | 6 (32%) | |
| Gram negative | 24 (56%) | 6 (32%) | 4 (21%) | |
| Polybacterial | 7 (6%) | 2 (11%) | 2 (11%) | |
| Positive fungal stain | 7 (6%) | |||
| Community acquired fever | 84 (73%) | 33 (77%) | 14 (74%) | |
| Time to inclusion (hours) | 12 (0.5−575) | 14 (0.1−1226) | 11 (1−130) | |
| Temperature (°C) | 38.9 (38.0−40.7)† | 38.8 (38.2−41.3)† | 39.3 (38.4−40.1)† | |
| WBC (×109/l) | 11.1 (0.3−42.3) | 12.2 (0.3−25.8) | 11.8 (3.2−27.2) | |
| Leucopenia (<1.0×109/l) | 5 (4%) | 2 (5%) | ||
| Shock | 1 (2%)‡ | 2 (11%)‡ | ||
| Mortality | 7 (6%) | 7 (16%) | ||