Table 1 Baseline characteristics of sepsis patients stratified by ABE quartiles
|  | Overall (N = 17,099) | Q1 (N = 4270) | Q2 (N = 4018) | Q3 (N = 4518) | Q4 (N = 4292) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age, years | 67.82 (56.80, 78.04) | 66.76 (54.93, 77.99) | 68.13 (56.94, 77.94) | 67.42 (57.11, 77.14) | 68.96 (58.17, 79.07) | 0.003 |
Male, % | 10,210 (59.7) | 2230 (54.6) | 2460 (61.2) | 2951 (65.3) | 2469 (57.5) |  < 0.001 |
White, % | 11,449 (67.0) | 2742 (64.2) | 2696 (67.1) | 3131 (69.3) | 2880 (67.1) |  < 0.001 |
Body mass index, kg/m2 | 27.79 (24.14, 32.46) | 27.49 (23.87, 32.11) | 27.76 (24.24, 32.22) | 28.00 (24.39, 32.28) | 28.00 (24.03, 33.08) | 0.139 |
Vital signs | ||||||
 Heart rate, bpm | 87 (77, 103) | 93 (80, 109) | 87 (76, 101) | 85 (76, 98) | 87 (77, 102) |  < 0.001 |
 SBP, mmHg | 117 (103, 135) | 115 (101, 133) | 117 (103, 134) | 117 (104, 134) | 120 (106, 137) |  < 0.001 |
 DBP, mmHg | 64 (54, 75) | 63 (53, 75) | 63 (53, 75) | 64 (55, 75) | 65 (55, 76) | 0.207 |
 Respiratory rate, bpm | 18 (15, 23) | 20 (16, 24) | 18 (15, 22) | 17 (14, 22) | 18 (15, 23) |  < 0.001 |
 Oxygen saturation, % | 99 (96, 100) | 98 (95, 100) | 99 (96, 100) | 99 (96, 100) | 99 (96, 100) |  < 0.001 |
 SOFA | 3.00 (2.00, 5.00) | 4.00 (2.00, 6.00) | 3.00 (2.00, 5.00) | 3.00 (2.00, 4.00) | 3.00 (2.00, 4.00) |  < 0.001 |
Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||||
 ARFA | 5965 (34.9) | 1837 (43.0) | 1340 (33.3) | 1295 (28.7) | 1493 (34.8) |  < 0.001 |
 SAE | 12,903 (75.5) | 3378 (79.1) | 2949 (73.4) | 3249 (71.9) | 3327 (77.5) |  < 0.001 |
 Sepsis shock | 3226 (18.9) | 1451 (34.0) | 691 (17.2) | 548 (12.1) | 536 (12.5) |  < 0.001 |
 Acute kidney injury |  |  |  |  |  |  < 0.001 |
 Stage I | 2256 (13.2) | 409 (9.6) | 550 (13.7) | 698 (15.4) | 599 (14.0) |  |
 Stage II | 5171 (30.2) | 1228 (28.8) | 1249 (31.1) | 1380 (30.5) | 1314 (30.6) |  |
 Stage III | 2008 (11.7) | 870 (20.4) | 404 (10.1) | 334 (7.4) | 400 (9.3) |  |
 Myocardial infarction | 3328 (19.5) | 899 (31.1) | 808 (20.1) | 881 (19.5) | 740 (17.2) |  < 0.001 |
 CHF | 5284 (30.9) | 1285 (30.1) | 1153 (28.7) | 1271 (28.1) | 1575 (36.7) |  < 0.001 |
 PVD | 2246 (13.1) | 568 (13.3) | 551 (13.7) | 635 (14.1) | 492 (13.1) | 0.002 |
 CVA | 2476 (14.5) | 530 (12.4) | 605 (15.1) | 722 (16.0) | 619 (14.4) |  < 0.001 |
 CPD | 4718 (27.6) | 1101 (25.8) | 1076 (26.8) | 1143 (25.3) | 1398 (32.6) |  < 0.001 |
 Hepatic disease | 2611 (15.3) | 901 (21.1) | 562 (14.0) | 551 (12.2) | 597 (13.9) |  < 0.001 |
 Malignant cancer | 2480 (14.5) | 684 (16.0) | 596 (14.8) | 574 (12.7) | 626 (14.6) |  < 0.001 |
 Diabetes mellitus | 5262 (30.8) | 1345 (31.5) | 1172 (29.2) | 1347 (29.8) | 1398 (32.6) | 0.002 |
Laboratory results | ||||||
 ABE, mmol/L | 1.20 (− 1.40, 3.20) |  − 4.00 (− 6.40, − 2.60) | 0.20 (− 0.60, 0.80) | 2.00 (1.60, 2.50) | 5.10 (4.00, 7.20) |  < 0.001 |
 BE, mmol/L |  − 1.00 (− 4.00, 1.00) |  − 7.00 (− 10.00, − 5.00) |  − 2.00 (− 3.00, − 1.00) | 0.00 (0.00, 1.00) | 3.00 (2.00, 5.00) |  < 0.001 |
 Lactate, mmol/L | 1.80 (1.20, 2.80) | 2.10 (1.30, 3.50) | 1.70 (1.10, 2.70) | 1.80 (1.40, 2.50) | 1.80 (1.20, 2.80) |  < 0.001 |
 Anion gap, mmol/L | 14.00 (12.00, 17.00) | 16.00 (13.00, 20.00) | 14.00 (11.00, 17.00) | 13.00 (11.00, 16.00) | 13.00 (11.00, 16.00) |  < 0.001 |
 Glucose, mg/dL | 137.00 (111.00, 173.00) | 140.00 (110.00, 187.00) | 136.00 (111.00, 170.00) | 135.00 (112.00, 167.00) | 135.00 (111.00, 171.00) |  < 0.001 |
 Bicarbonate, mmol/L | 22.00 (20.00, 25.00) | 18.00 (16.00, 20.00) | 22.00 (20.00, 24.00) | 23.00 (22.00, 25.00) | 26.00 (23.00, 29.00) |  < 0.001 |
 BUN, mg/dL | 20.00 (14.00, 33.00) | 27.00 (17.00, 48.00) | 20.00 (14.00, 30.00) | 17.00 (13.00, 26.00) | 19.00 (13.00, 30.00) |  < 0.001 |
 Calcium, mg/dL | 8.10 (7.70, 8.60) | 7.80 (7.30, 8.40) | 8.10 (7.70, 8.60) | 8.20 (7.80, 8.60) | 8.40 (7.90, 8.80) |  < 0.001 |
 Chloride, mmol/L | 106.00 (101.00, 110.00) | 107.00 (103.00, 111.00) | 107.00 (102.00, 110.00) | 106.00 (102.00, 110.00) | 103.00 (98.00, 108.00) |  < 0.001 |
 Sodium, mmol/L | 139.00 (136.00, 141.00) | 138.00 (125.00, 141.00) | 139.00 (136.00, 141.00) | 139.00 (136.00, 141.00) | 139.00 (137.00, 142.00) | 0.001 |
 Potassium, mmol/L | 4.20 (3.80, 4.60) | 4.30 (3.80, 4.90) | 4.20 (3.80, 4.60) | 4.10 (3.80, 4.50) | 4.00 (3.60, 4.50) |  < 0.001 |
 Phosphorus, mg/dL | 3.50 (2.90, 4.40) | 4.00 (3.10, 5.20) | 3.50 (2.90, 4.40) | 3.40 (2.80, 4.10) | 3.40 (2.80. 4.10) |  < 0.001 |
 eGFR, mL/min/1.73m2 | 72.77 (43.25, 102.20) | 46.58 (26.11, 77.67) | 73.09 (46.13, 101.46) | 83.85 (57.92, 106.55) | 81.96 (53.38, 110.10) |  < 0.001 |
 PaCO2, % | 41.00 (35.00, 47.00) | 39.00 (33.00, 46.00) | 41.00 (35.00, 46.00) | 41.00 (36.00, 46.00) | 42.00 (37.00, 50.00) |  < 0.001 |
 Potential of hydrogen | 7.31 (7.38, 7.43) | 7.29 (7.21, 7.34) | 7.36 (7.32 7.41) | 7.40 (7.36, 7.44) | 7.42 (7.38, 7.47) |  < 0.001 |
Interventions, % | ||||||
 RRT | 691 (4.0) | 335 (7.8) | 115 (2.9) | 99 (2.2) | 142 (3.3) |  < 0.001 |
 Mechanical ventilation | 10,639 (62.2) | 2749 (64.4) | 2509 (62.4) | 2740 (25.8) | 2641 (61.5) | 0.003 |
Medications, % | ||||||
 Vasopressors | 9605 (56.2) | 2725 (63.8) | 2276 (56.6) | 2506 (55.5) | 2098 (48.9) |  < 0.001 |
 Corticosteroids | 1185 (6.9) | 411 (9.6) | 268 (6.7) | 239 (5.3) | 267 (6.2) |  < 0.001 |
 Antitotic drugs | 14,950 (87.4) | 3756 (88.0) | 3500 (87.1) | 3979 (88.1) | 3715 (86.5) | 0.099 |
 Furosemide | 5399 (31.6) | 927 (21.7) | 1186 (29.5) | 1637 (36.2) | 1649 (38.4) |  < 0.001 |
 Fluid output, L | 2.34 (1.39, 3.48) | 1.96 (1.03, 3.23) | 2.40 (1.49, 3.50) | 2.55 (1.62, 3.60) | 2.37 (1.47, 3.49) |  < 0.001 |
 Fluid input, L | 1.88 (9.25, 3.09) | 2.37 (1.22, 3.90) | 1.95 (1.00, 3.06) | 1.74 (0.87, 2.77) | 1.60 (0.73, 2.61) |  < 0.001 |