Sex differences in long-term survival after intensive care unit treatment for sepsis: A cohort study.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the effect of sex on sepsis-related ICU admission and survival for up to 3-years.MethodsRetrospective cohort study of adults admitted to Australian ICUs between 2018 and 2020. Men and women with a primary diagnosis of sepsis were included. The primary outcome of time to death for up to 3-years was examined using Kaplan Meier plots. Secondary outcomes included the duration of ICU and hospital stay.ResultsOf 523,576 admissions, there were 63,039 (12·0%) sepsis-related ICU admissions. Of these, there were 50,956 patients (43·4% women) with 3-year survival data. Men were older (mean age 66·5 vs 63·6 years), more commonly received mechanical ventilation (27·4% vs 24·7%) and renal replacement therapy (8·2% vs 6·8%) and had worse survival (Hazard Ratio [HR] 1·11; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1·07 to 1·14, PConclusionMen are more likely to be admitted to ICU with sepsis and have worse survival for up to 3-years. Understanding causal mechanisms of sex differences may facilitate the development of targeted sepsis strategies.