Patients with severe sepsis who are stabilized in the emergency department prior to being admitted to an intensive care unit are not associated with an increased risk of mortality, according to a recent study.
The study was conducted by Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple.
For the study, researchers conducted a retrospective chart review that revealed sicker patients are triaged quickly to the ICU and have shorter ED lengths of stay. The researchers analyzed additional variables that may impact mortality in severe sepsis cases as well, including ED triage to antibiotic time, triage to lactate time, lactate clearance, ED length of stay and variations in volume of IV fluids.
Ultimately, the only two factors tied to higher mortality rates were the initial lactate value and shorter length of stay in the ED, both of which indicate sicker patients anyway.
"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," said lead research Aruna Jahoor, MD, of the Baylor Scott & White Health Central Division. "These results suggest that identification and immediate treatment may positively impact survival in sepsis — no matter the hospital location of that patient."
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