Table 2 Clinical, laboratory, imaging and hospitalization parameters associated with sepsis in patients with cellulitis
From: Factors associated with sepsis development in 606 Spanish adult patients with cellulitis
All n = 606 | No sepsis (n = 541) | Sepsis (n = 65) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Clinical and topographical aspects | ||||
Days of symptoms | 4.11 (3.80–4.46) | 4.23 (3.88–4.61) | 3.27 (2.65–4.02) | 0.04 |
Temperature (°C) | 37.02 (36.94–37.10) | 36.98 (36.91–37.06) | 37.32 (37.03–37.62) | 0.03 |
Location of cellulitis | ||||
Lower extremities | 453 (74.8%) | 403 (74.5%) | 50 (76.9%) | 0.9 |
Upper extremities | 82 (13.5%) | 74 (13.7%) | 8 (12.3%) | |
Thorax/abdomen | 26 (4.3%) | 24 (4.4%) | 2 (3.1%) | |
Head/neck | 45 (7.4%) | 40 (7.4%) | 5 (7.7%) | |
Exclusive or preferential side | ||||
Right | 264 (43.6%) | 235 (43.4%) | 29 (44.6%) | 0.5 |
Left | 292 (48.2%) | 259 (47.9%) | 33 (50.8%) | |
Bilateral/centered | 50 (8.3%) | 47 (8.7%) | 3 (4.6%) | |
Maximum length of cellulitis (cm) b | ||||
(n = 398) | 20.08 (18.76–21.50) | 19.48 (18.13–20.93) | 24.85 (20.14–30.67) | 0.02 |
Crepitation | ||||
Yes | 9 (1.5%) | 6 (1.1%) | 3 (4.6%) | 0.06 |
No | 597 (98.5%) | 535 (98.9%) | 62 (95.4%) | |
Presence of purulent collection | ||||
Yes | 164 (27.1%) | 142 (26.2%) | 22 (33.8%) | 0.19 |
No / not detected | 442 (72.9%) | 399 (73.8%) | 43 (66.2%) | |
Detection of the collection | ||||
By physical exam | 104 (63.4%) | 91 (64.1%) | 13 (59.1%) | 0.6 |
Only by imaging | 60 (36.6%) | 51 (35.9%) | 9 (40.9%) | |
Laboratory parameters | ||||
Blood glucose (mg/dL) | 124.4 (120.9–128.0) | 123.3 (119.6–127.2) | 133.6 (123.5–144.5) | 0.09 |
Blood creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.03 (1.00–1.07) | 1.01 (0.97–1.04) | 1.28 (1.11–1.47) | 0.001 |
Leukocyte count (cells/μL) | 10,777 (10354–11,218) | 10,395 (9983–10,824) | 14,555 (12575–16,847) | < 0.0001 |
Neutrophil count (% of leukocytes) | 75.13 (73.95–76.34) | 74.18 (72.92–75.47) | 83.55 (81.31–85.86) | < 0.0001 |
ESR (mm/h) | ||||
(n = 161) | 53.02 (47.64–59.01)) | 52.84 (47.06–59.32) | 54.59 (41.05–72.59) | 0.8 |
CRP (mg/L) | ||||
(n = 581) | 23.60 (20.47–27.21) | 22.06 (18.99–25.63) | 41.04 (26.52–63.49) | 0.008 |
Imaging procedures | ||||
Imaging | ||||
Yes | 277 (45.7%) | 247 (45.7%) | 30 (46.2%) | 0.9 |
No | 329 (54.3%) | 294 (54.3%) | 35 (53.8%) | |
Imaging a | ||||
Only echography | 147 (53.1%) | 136 (55.1%) | 11 (36.7%) | 0.2 |
Only CT | 50 (18.1%) | 44 (17.8%) | 6 (20.0%) | |
Only MRI | 18 (6.5%) | 15 (6.1%) | 3 (10.0%) | |
Others / combined | 62 (22.4%) | 52 (21.1%) | 10 (33.3%) | |
Imaging (single or combined) a | ||||
Echography | 180 (65.0%) | 160 (64.8%) | 20 (66.7%) | 0.8 |
Other than echo | 97 (35.0%) | 87 (35.2%) | 10 (33.3%) | |
CT | 77 (27.8%) | 65 (26.3%) | 12 (40.0%) | 0.11 |
Other than CT | 200 (72.2%) | 182 (73.7%) | 18 (60.0%) | |
MRI | 37 (13.3%) | 30 (12.1%) | 7 (23.3%) | 0.9 |
Other than MRI | 240 (86.6%) | 217 (87.9%) | 23 (76.7%) | |
Hospitalization parameters & outcome | ||||
Days of hospital stay | 7.02 (6.63–7.44) | 6.88 (6.49–7.30) | 8.30 (6.72–10.25) | 0.09 |
Follow-up after discharge | ||||
Primary care | 377 (63.7%) | 345 (64.6%) | 32 (55.2%) | 0.3 |
Outpatient clinic | 202 (34.1%) | 177 (33.1%) | 25 (43.1%) | |
Others | 13 (2.2%) | 12 (2.2%) | 1 (1.7%) | |
Cellulitis outcome | ||||
Good response | 520 (85.8%) | 469 (86.7%) | 51 (78.5%) | 0.07 |
Poor response | 86 (14.2%) | 72 (13.3%) | 14 (21.5%) | |
Vital outcome | ||||
Death | 18 (3.0%) | 11 (2.0%) | 7 (10.8%) | 0.001 |
Survival | 588 (97.0%) | 530 (98.0%) | 58 (89.2%) | |
Death related to cellulitis | ||||
Yes | 5 (27.8%) | 1 (9.1%) | 4 (57.1%) | 0.047 |
No | 13 (72.2%) | 10 (90.9%) | 3 (42.9%) | |
Days from admission to death | 7.18 (4.14–12.45) | 9.05 (4.85–16.88) | 5.16 (1.54–17.23) | 0.3 |