Factors Associated With Mortality Among Septic Hospital Ward Patients

To identify factors associated with mortality among hospital ward patients identified by a dedicated sepsis response team.

Patients identified between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2025 were included. Demographic, process-of-care, and outcome variables were collected. Patients were dichotomized based on whether they expired during hospital admission and compared using descriptive statistics. Multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with mortality.

A total of 1022 patients were included, of whom 110 (10.8%) expired before hospital discharge. Nonsurvivors were older (65.3 vs 60.4, P=.005), more commonly identified by clinician than electronic alert (23.6% vs 13.2%, P=.003), and had been admitted longer at sepsis identification (10.6 [SD, 15] days vs 8.5 [SD 14.6] days, P=.007). After logistic regression, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (odds ratio [OR], 1.093; 95% CI, 1.033-1.158), lactate values (OR, 1.373; 95% CI, 1.242-1.526), sequential organ failure assessment scores (OR 1.287; 95% CI, 1.176-1.411), and oncology service admission (OR, 1.661; 95% CI, 1.029-2.685) were associated with in-hospital mortality.

In this population of hospital ward patients with sepsis, evidence of hypoperfusion, organ failure, and presence of comorbidities were associated with in-hospital mortality. More research is needed to delineate whether decompensation at the time of diagnosis is due to sepsis-mediated processes or underlying disease in order to identify patients who derive the most benefit from timely sepsis interventions.