Association between early manifestations of infection or sepsis and prognosis in a high complexity hospital in the city of Medellín

Objective

To identify the first symptoms and signs of patients with suspected infection or sepsis and their association with the composite outcome of admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or mortality.

Design

Prospective cohort study between June 2019 and March 2020.

Setting

Hospital Universitario San Vicente Fundación, Colombia.

Patients

Over 18 years of age with suspicion or confirmation of sepsis, which required hospitalization.

Interventions

None.

Main variables of interest

Symptoms and signs associated with infection, with their time of evolution, specified in the study.

Results

From 1005 eligible patients, 261 were included. After multivariable adjustment with a logistic regression model, the main factors for ICU admission or mortality were heart rate (OR 1.04 with 95% CI 1.04–3.7), respiratory rate (OR 1.19 with 95% CI 1.0−1.4) and capillary refill time (OR 3.4 with 95% CI 1.9−6.1).

Conclusions

Heart rate, respiratory rate, and capillary refill may behave as early predictors of ICU admission and mortality in cases of sepsis.