Sex-based differences in ED management of critically ill patients with sepsis: a nationwide cohort study

To compare management and outcomes for critically ill women and men with sepsis in the emergency medical services (EMS), the emergency department (ED) and the ICU.

We used two prospectively compiled Swedish national quality registers, the National Quality Sepsis Registry and the Swedish Intensive Care Registry to identify a nationwide cohort of 2720 adults admitted to an ICU within 24 h of arrival to any of 32 EDs, with a diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock between 2008 and 2015.

Patients were 44.5% female. In the EMS, a higher fraction of men had all vital signs recorded-54.4 vs 49.9% (p = 0.02) and received IV fluids and oxygen-40.0 vs 34.8% (p = 0.02). In the ED, men had completed 1-h sepsis bundles in 41.5% of cases compared to 30.0% in women (p < 0.001), and shorter time to antibiotics-65 (IQR 30-136) vs 87 min (IQR 39-172) (p = 0.0001). There was no significant difference between men and women regarding ICU nursing workload, mechanical ventilation or ICU length of stay. In severity-adjusted multivariable analysis, OR for women achieving a completed sepsis bundle, compared to men was 0.64 (CI 0.51-0.81). Thirty-day mortality was 25.0% for women and 23.1% for men (p = 0.24). Adjusted OR for female death was 1.28 (CI 1.00-1.64), but the increased mortality was not mediated by differential bundle completion.

Women and men with severe sepsis or septic shock received differential care in the ED, but this did not explain higher odds of death in women.