β-Blockers, Tachycardia, and Survival Following Sepsis: An Observational Cohort Study

Sepsis is associated with excessive release of catecholamines, which causes tachycardia and is correlated with poor clinical outcome. β-Blockers (BBs) may blunt this effect on heart rate (HR). The objective of this study is to assess whether long-term BB therapy is associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis admitted to internal medicine wards.

We performed a single-center, observational cohort study. We included adult patients who were hospitalized in medicine departments due to sepsis. A propensity score model for BB therapy was used to match patients. The primary outcome was the 30-day all-cause mortality rate. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for an adverse outcome. Patients were stratified according to absolute tachycardia (HR ≥100/min) or relative tachycardia at presentation (tachycardia index above the third quartile, with tachycardia index defined as the ratio of HR to temperature).

A total of 1186 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In the propensity-matched cohort patients given BB treatment were younger (median age [interquartile range], 74 [62-82] vs 81 [68-87] years; P ≤ .001). BB treatment was associated with reduction in 30-day mortality rates for patients with absolute tachycardia (odds ratio, 0.406; 95% confidence interval, .177-.932). Final model with interaction variable of BB treatment with HR was associated with short-term survival (odds ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, .148-.976). Selective BB therapy had a stronger protective effect than nonselective BB therapy.

Long-term BB therapy was associated with decreased mortality rate in patients hospitalized with sepsis in internal medicine wards exhibiting absolute and relative tachycardia.