Incidence and risk factors associated with early death in patients with emergency department septic shock

Limited research has explored early mortality among patients presenting with septic shock. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and factors associated with early death following emergency department (ED) presentation of septic shock.

A prospective registry of patients enrolled in an ED septic shock clinical pathway was used to identify patients. Patients were compared across demographic, comorbid, clinical, and treatment variables by death within 72 hours of ED presentation.

Among the sample of 2,414 patients, overall hospital mortality was 20.6%. Among patients who died in the hospital, mean and median time from ED presentation to death were 4.96 days and 2.28 days, respectively. Death at 24, 48, and 72 hours occurred in 5.5%, 9.5%, and 11.5% of patients, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that the following factors were independently associated with early mortality: age (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.05), malignancy (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.11-2.11), pneumonia (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.02-1.88), urinary tract infection (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.44-0.89), first shock index (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.27-2.70), early vasopressor use (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.60-2.92), initial international normalized ratio (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.07-1.27), initial albumin (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.44-0.69), and first serum lactate (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.16-1.26).

Adult septic shock patients experience a high rate of early mortality within 72 hours of ED arrival. Recognizable clinical factors may aid the identification of patients at risk of early death.