Thirty-Day Mortality in Septic Shock Patients is Directly Associated with High Disease Severity Score but not with the Length of Stay in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Aim:To determine the factors associated with mortality in septic shock patients who are transferred from the emergency department (ED) to the intensive care unit (ICU).Materials and Methods:We used the data of 206 patients who were admitted to the ED with infection and were diagnosed with septic shock between December 2016 and January 2020.Results:The 206 patients had a mean Glasgow Coma score of 11.42 (range: 3-15), mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE-II) score of 21.66 (range: 8-49) and mean Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score (SOFA) of 10.24 (range: 2-22). There were no differences in 30-day mortality and in need for renal replacement therapy (RRT) or mechanical ventilation (MV) between patients transferred to the ICU within 1 hour of ED admission and those transferred to the ICU more than 6 hours after ED admission (p>0.05). Patients with an APACHE-II score ≥20 or a SOFA score ≥8 had longer MV duration and ICU and hospital stay, greater RRT and MV need and higher mortality rate than the patients with lower value (p<0.05).Conclusion:Septic shock patients who have high disease severity scores have poor prognosis. The length of time between ED and ICU admission does not affect patient outcomes.

Keywords

• septic shock
• emergency department
• admission time
• mortality