Table 3

Characteristics of fully-automated sepsis incidence surveillance in a general hospital population

AllNo sepsisSepsis-3
clinical criteria
Community-onset* Sepsis-3 clinical criteriaHospital-onset* Sepsis-3 clinical criteria
Hospital admissions, No.82 65374 054859974931106
Patients, No.54 88451 343728664721055
Female sex, No. (%)27 928 (50.9)26 378 (51.4)3213 (43.9)2876 (44.2)430 (41.4)
Age, med (IQR)64.0 (47.0–75.0)63.0 (47.0–74.0)70.0 (59.0–80.0)70.0 (60.0–81.0)67.0 (54.0–76.0)
Length of stay, med (IQR)3.8 (2.0–7.6)3.3 (1.9–6.9)8.0 (4.2–15.7)7.0 (4.0–12.6)23.0 (14.7–36.7)
Charlson Comorbidity Index†, med (IQR)0 (0–2)0 (0–2)2 (0–3)2 (0–2)2 (0–3)
Comorbidities‡, No. (%)
Chronic pulmonary disease2370 (4.3)2103 (4.1)692 (9.5)645 (10.0)76 (7.2)
Cancer14 036 (25.6)13 094 (25.5)2601 (35.7)2240 (34.6)514 (48.7)
Cerebral vascular disease4061 (7.4)3783 (7.4)670 (9.2)580 (9.0)123 (11.7)
Chronic heart failure2887 (5.3)2643 (5.1)792 (10.9)708 (10.9)113 (10.7)
Myocardial infarction2638 (4.8)2485 (4.8)403 (5.5)361 (5.6)49 (4.6)
Connective tissue disease1471 (2.7)1360 (2.6)287 (3.9)259 (4.0)42 (4.0)
Diabetes mellitus1681 (3.1)1541 (3.0)442 (6.1)394 (6.1)65 (6.2)
HIV infection54 (0.1)46 (0.1)18 (0.2)17 (0.3)2 (0.2)
Kidney disease2222 (4.0)1998 (3.9)644 (8.8)565 (8.7)111 (10.5)
Liver disease1281 (2.3)1173 (2.3)340 (4.7)294 (4.5)62 (5.9)
Prior surgery (30 days)§, No. (%)12 274 (14.9)10 091 (13.6)2186 (25.4)1458 (19.5)728 (65.8)
Suspected infection¶, No. (%)19 479 (23.6)10 880 (14.7)8599 (100.0)7493 (100.0)1106 (100.0)
Sepsis**, No. (%)
Sepsis-3 clinical criteria8599 (10.4)0 (0.0)8599 (100.0)7493 (100.0)1106 (100.0)
ICD-10 coded2055 (2.5)907 (1.2)1148 (13.4)939 (12.5)209 (18.9)
Community-onset sepsis, No. (%)7493 (9.1)0 (0.0)7493 (87.1)7493 (100.0)0 (0.0)
Hospital-onset sepsis, No. (%)1106 (1.3)0 (0.0)1106 (12.9)0 (0.0)1106 (100.0)
ICU admission††, No. (%)4335 (5.2)3471 (4.7)864 (10.0)578 (7.7)286 (25.9)
ICU days, med (IQR)1.4 (0.9–4.1)1.2 (0.9–3.5)2.8 (1.1–6.3)2.1 (1.0–4.6)4.8 (2.0–11.4)
Bloodstream infection‡‡, No. (%)2659 (3.2)1104 (1.5)1555 (18.1)1279 (17.1)276 (25.0)
In-hospital mortality, No. (%)1953 (2.4)1216 (1.6)737 (8.6)596 (8.0)141 (12.7)
  • *Hospital-onset defined as a sepsis episode 48 hours after admission or if the patient was readmitted with sepsis within 48 hours of discharge. All other sepsis episodes were defined as community-onset.

  • †Weighted Charlson comorbidity index.50 Total modified Charlson score: 0–24.

  • ‡Comorbidity defined according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes registered within five years prior to hospitalisation.51

  • §Prior surgery was generated using procedure codes. For sepsis patients time zero was sepsis onset. For non-sepsis patients time zero was admission.

  • ¶Defined as any culture taken and administration of two doses antimicrobials.

  • **Sepsis-3 defined as suspected infection combined with change in SOFA score of two points or more. ICD-10 codes including A02.1, A22.7, A26.7, A32.7, A39.2, A39.4, A40.x, A41.x, A42.7, A48.3, B37.7, M72.6, R57.2, R65.1 and R65.9.

  • ††Intensive care unit admission any time during hospitalisation.

  • ‡‡Bloodstream infection any time during hospitalisation (online supplement methods 2).

  • ICU, intensive care unit; med, median; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.