The predictive value of variables measurable in the ambulance and the development of the Predict Sepsis screening tools: a prospective cohort study
2020 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, E-ISSN 1757-7241, Vol. 28, no 1, article id 59
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Despite sepsis being a time critical condition with a high mortality, it is often not identified in a timely fashion. The aim of the current study was to create a screening tool based on bedside measurable variables predictive of sepsis among ambulance patients with infection according to clinical judgment by ambulance personnel.
Methods: Prospective cohort study of 551 adult patients presenting with suspected infection, performed in the ambulance setting of Stockholm during 2017-2018. 18 variables were measured in the ambulance (8 keywords related to medical history, 6 vital signs, 4 point-of-care blood tests, in addition to age, gender, and comorbidity. Logistic regression, area under the curve (AUC) and classification trees were used to study the association with sepsis. The AUC, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and likelihood ratios were used to evaluate the predictive ability of sepsis screening models.
Results: The six variables with the strongest association with sepsis were: systolic blood pressure <= 100 mmHg, temperature > 38.5 degrees C, GCS < 15, lactate > 4 mmol/L, gastrointestinal symptoms, and a history of acute altered mental status. These were combined into thePredict Sepsis screening tool 1, with a sensitivity of 0.90, specificity 0.41, AUC 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73-0.81, PPV 0.52, and NPV 0.86. Combining a history of acute altered mental status with GCS < 15 and excluding lactate in thePredict Sepsis screening tool 2did not noticeably affect the AUC. In addition, the AUCs of these models did not differ noticeably when compared to a model including vital signs alone, with novel calculated cut-offs; thePredict Sepsis screening tool 3.
Conclusions: Systolic blood pressure <= 100 mmHg, temperature > 38.5 degrees C, GCS < 15, lactate > 4 mmol/L, gastrointestinal symptoms, and a history of acute altered mental status demonstrated the strongest association with sepsis. We present three screening tools to predict sepsis with similar sensitivity. The results indicated no noticeable increase of predictive ability by including symptom-variables and blood tests to a sepsis screening tool in the current study population.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BioMed Central, 2020. Vol. 28, no 1, article id 59
Keywords [en]
Sepsis, Screening, Emergency medical services, Prehospital, Emergency care
National Category
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disease
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-84843DOI: 10.1186/s13049-020-00745-6ISI: 000545747800001PubMedID: 32586337Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85087139045OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-84843DiVA, id: diva2:1458662
Note
Funding Agencies:
Laerdal
Falck Foundation
Emergency Department of Södersjukhuset, Stockholm
Örebro University
2020-08-172020-08-172025-02-10Bibliographically approved