Researchers from Baylor Scott & White Health and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple, Texas, found no increased risk of mortality for patients with severe sepsis who were stabilized in the emergency department prior to ICU admission. The retrospective chart review revealed sicker patients were triaged quickly to the ICU and had a shorter length of stay in the emergency department.
Additional variables that may impact mortality in severe sepsis were also analyzed, which included triage to lactate time, antibiotic time, length of stay in the emergency department, lactate clearance, and variations in volume of IV fluids.
A news release from the American College of Chest Physicians notes that most variables did not show a significant difference in outcomes, with the exception of initial lactate value and shorter length of stay in the ED, both of which indicated sicker patients and were tied to higher mortality rates.
Aruna Jahoor, MD, lead researcher, says, “Our study found that the sickest patients were more quickly triaged to the ICU. Those patients who were less sick and kept in the ED for longer time had lower mortality. These results suggest that identification and immediate treatment may positively impact survival in sepsis — no matter the hospital location of that patient.”
Source: American College of Chest Physicians
