Characteristics of patients who were transported by emergency medical services
| Characteristic | Group; no (%) of patients* | Standardized difference | % with missing data | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No sepsis n = 10 000 | Sepsis n = 2740 | |||
| Prehospital operational characteristics | ||||
| Dispatch priority | 0.34 | 0.01 | ||
| Omega/alpha (lowest priority) | 3300 (33) | 525 (19) | ||
| Bravo/charlie | 3998 (40) | 1172 (43) | ||
| Delta/echo (highest priority) | 2695 (27) | 1043 (38) | ||
| Unit type | 0.004 | 0 | ||
| Advanced life support | 8886 (89) | 2438 (89) | ||
| Basic life support | 1114 (11) | 302 (11) | ||
| Emergent (i.e., lights and sirens) transport to hospital | 369 (4) | 460 (17) | 0.44 | 0.3 |
| Response time, min, median (IQR) | 7.0 (5.0–10) | 6.0 (4.0–9.3) | 0.13 | 2.2 |
| Prehospital time, min, median (IQR) | 39 (31–50) | 41 (34–52) | 0.14 | 0 |
| Transport distance, km, median (IQR) | 14 (9.0–17) | 12 (9.0–16) | 0.05 | 0 |
| Prehospital patient characteristics | ||||
| Sex | 0.087 | 0 | ||
| Male | 4447 (44) | 1337 (49) | ||
| Female | 5553 (56) | 1403 (51) | ||
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 71 ± 18 | 75 ± 15 | 0.23 | 0 |
| Weight, kg, mean ± SD | 79 ± 26 | 79 ± 27 | 0.02 | 38 |
| Temperature, °C, mean ± SD | 37.0 ± 0.93 | 37.1 ± 1.2 | 0.09 | 7.8 |
| Heart rate, beats/min, mean ± SD | 94 ± 23 | 100 ± 26 | 0.24 | 0.7 |
| Respiratory rate, breaths/min, mean ± SD | 21 ± 6.2 | 24 ± 10 | 0.41 | 2.1 |
| Oxygen saturation, %, median (IQR) | 95 (92–97) | 91 (84–95) | 0.75 | 1.2 |
| End-tidal carbon dioxide, mm Hg, mean ± SD | 31 ± 15 | 28 ± 13 | 0.26 | 86 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mg Hg, mean ± SD | 138 ± 27 | 126 ± 31 | 0.42 | 0.6 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg, mean ± SD | 79 ± 18 | 72 ± 21 | 0.37 | 0.8 |
| Mean arterial pressure, mm Hg, mean ± SD | 99 ± 19 | 89 ± 22 | 0.43 | 15 |
| Blood glucose level, mmol/L, mean ± SD | 7.9 ± 3.69 | 8.4 ± 4.3 | 0.12 | 24 |
| Glasgow Coma Scale score, (14) mean ± SD | 15 ± 0.83 | 13 ± 2.9 | 0.92 | 3.7 |
| CIP score,† median (IQR) | 3 (1–5) | 6 (4–9) | 0.99 | 0 |
| IV initiated by EMS personnel | 3773 (38) | 1467 (54) | 0.43 | 0 |
| Total volume of IV fluid administered,‡ mL, median (IQR) | 400 (238–500) | 400 (250– 500) | 0.12 | 19 |
| Weight-based volume of IV fluid administered (mL/kg), mean ± SD | 5.85 ± 4.97 | 6.28 ± 5.23 | 0.08 | 19 |
| Hospital characteristics | ||||
| CTAS score in emergency department | 0.75 | 7.7 | ||
| 1 (most urgent) | 137 (2) | 366 (14) | ||
| 2 | 2999 (33) | 1389 (52) | ||
| 3 | 4759 (52) | 831 (31) | ||
| 4 | 1081 (12) | 99 (4) | ||
| 5 (least urgent) | 92 (1) | 6 (< 1) | ||
| CTAS score, median (IQR) | 3 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 0.785 | 7.7 |
| Time to triage, min, median (IQR) | 11 (8.0–15) | 10 (7.5–14) | 0.12 | 9.8 |
| Time to physician assessment, min, median (IQR) | 77 (37–137) | 44 (16–96) | 0.38 | 11 |
| Total time in emergency department, min, median (IQR) | 555 (347–1035) | 700 (445–1287) | 0.19 | 0 |
| Patient admitted to inpatient care | 5775 (58) | 2614 (95) | 1.8 | 0 |
| Patient transferred to another hospital | 254 (2) | 90 (3) | 0.04 | 0 |
| Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | 0.15 | |
| Mechanical ventilation required | 122 (1) | 254 (10) | 0.38 | 0 |
| Patient admitted to ICU | 266 (3) | 356 (13) | 0.39 | 0 |
| Total ICU time,§ h, median (IQR) | 116 (58–216) | 117 (49–209) | 0.18 | 0 |
| Total length of stay, d, median (IQR) | 7 (4–13) | 7 (4–15) | 0.04 | 0 |
| In-hospital death | 427 (5) | 528 (28) | 0.66 | 18 |
Note: CIP = Critical Illness Prediction score, CTAS = Canadian Triage Acuity Scale, (59) EMS = emergency medical services, ICU = intensive care unit, IQR = interquartile range, IV = intravenous, Prehospital time = time from EMS arrival on scene to arrival at hospital, Response time = time from call to EMS arrival on scene, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Except where indicated otherwise.
↵† This score was previously validated as a measure of illness severity in patients transported by paramedics. (60)
↵‡ Among patients who received fluid by IV admnistration.
↵§ Among patients who were admitted to the ICU.