Characteristics of the patients
| Control (n=93) | Infection (n=94) | Sepsis (n=53) | Septic shock (n=86) | P value | |
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 56 (45.0–69.0) | 63 (51.0–73.8) | 58 (49.0–70.0) | 64 (53.0–70.0) | 0.023 |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 50 (53.8) | 64 (68.1) | 34 (64.2) | 53 (61.6) | 0.237 |
| Comorbidity, n (%) | |||||
| Hypertension | 30 (32.3) | 38 (40.4) | 15 (28.3) | 29 (33.7) | 0.459 |
| Diabetes | 15 (16.1) | 25 (26.6) | 10 (18.9) | 15 (17.4) | 0.281 |
| Cardiovascular | 21 (22.6) | 24 (25.5) | 5 (9.4) | 15 (17.4) | 0.100 |
| Liver disease | 3 (3.2) | 3 (3.2) | 3 (5.7) | 5 (5.8) | 0.739 |
| Malignant tumour | 34 (36.6) | 36 (38.3) | 18 (34.0) | 42 (48.8) | 0.243 |
| Others | 26 (28.0) | 47 (50.0) | 15 (28.3) | 37 (43.0) | 0.005 |
| Source of infection, n (%) | |||||
| Abdomen | – | 31 (33.0) | 30 (56.6) | 63 (73.3) | <0.001 |
| Respiratory | – | 46 (48.9) | 17 (32.1) | 23 (26.7) | 0.006 |
| Blood | – | 4 (4.3) | 8 (15.1) | 16 (18.6) | 0.009 |
| Skin and soft tissues | – | 16 (17.0) | 5 (9.4) | 8 (9.3) | 0.220 |
| Others | – | 6 (6.4) | 8 (15.1) | 5 (5.8) | 0.109 |
| Pathogens, n (%) | |||||
| Escherichia coli | 3 (3.2) | 9 (9.6) | 9 (17.0) | 24 (27.9) | <0.001 |
| Klebsiella genus | 1 (1.1) | 8 (8.5) | 8 (15.1) | 14 (16.3） | 0.003 |
| Other Enterobacteriaceae | 2 (2.2) | 2 (2.1) | 4 (7.6) | 9 (10.5) | 0.030 |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 1 (1.1) | 5 (5.3) | 7 (13.2) | 9 (10.5) | 0.015 |
| Acinetobacter baumannii | 1 (1.1) | 7 (7.5) | 4 (7.6) | 4 (4.7) | 0.112 |
| Stenotrophomonas maltophilia | 1 (1.1) | 2 (2.1) | 1 (1.9) | 11 (12.8) | 0.001 |
| Enterococcus | 1 (1.1) | 8 (8.5) | 9 (17.0) | 19 (22.1) | <0.001 |
| Other Gram-negative bacteria | 1 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.8) | 9 (10.5) | 0.001 |
| Staphylococcus | 1 (1.1) | 12 (12.8) | 5 (9.4) | 7 (8.1) | 0.024 |
| Streptococcus | 2 (2.2) | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.9) | 3 (3.5) | 0.752 |
| Anaerobic bacteria | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.9) | 4 (4.7) | 0.377 |
| Fungi | 3 (3.2) | 17 (18.1) | 14 (26.4) | 38 (44.1) | <0.001 |
| APACHE II score, median (IQR) | 9.0 (7.0–12.0) | 12.0 (9.0–16.0) | 13.0 (9.00–18.0) | 16.5 (12.0–21.0) | <0.001 |
| SOFA score*, median (IQR) | 2.0 (1.0–5.0) | 4.0 (2.3–7.0) | 5.0 (3.0–7.0) | 10.0 (7.0–13.0) | <0.001 |
| Length of ICU stay, days median (IQR) | 2.0 (1.0–4.0) | 5.0 (3.0–7.8) | 6.0 (3.0–10.0) | 8.0 (4.0–13.0) | <0.001 |
| 3-day improvement, n (%) | 88 (94.6) | 83 (88.3) | 47 (88.7) | 64 (74.4) | 0.001 |
| 28-day overall mortality, n (%) | 3 (3.2) | 9 (9.6) | 6 (11.3) | 28 (32.6) | <0.001 |
*The absolute values of SOFA scores.
APACHE II, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II; ICU, intensive care unit; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.