Khodorkovsky B, et al. - In patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with sepsis, the predictive and diagnostic usefulness of the initial recorded body temperature was assessed via a retrospective cohort study of adult patients diagnosed in the ED with sepsis. Findings revealed a correlation of hypothermia with increased time to initial antibiotics, length of stay, rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality. They suggest employing early and aggressive intervention for hypothermia in sepsis patients to avoid adverse outcomes and delays in care.

Methods

• In the ED of a single facility, researchers conducted this retrospective cohort study from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014.
• Adult subjects 18 years of age and older admitted to the hospital from the ED with a diagnosis of sepsis were included.

Results

• Findings revealed a correlation of hypothermia on presentation with a longer time to antibiotics treatment of 338.6 min (p=0.002), longer length of stay of 14.5 days (p < 0.001), higher rate of ICU admission of 32.7% (p=0.003), and higher mortality rate of 30.8% (p < 0.001).