title: Clinical prognostic markers in patients with severe sepsis: a prospective analysis of 139 consecutive cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the clinical characteristics and determine predictive factors of mortality in previously healthy individuals suffering from severe sepsis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 139 patients with severe sepsis, admitted to the Department of Medicine over a two years period. Data recorded on admission included demographic information, blood pressure, core temperature, white blood count, hepatic and renal function tests, coagulation factors, blood gases, serum lactic acid levels, simplified acute physiology score (SAPS-II) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  On admission, 62 patients were hypotensive, 52 had signs of diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC), 72 had renal and 27 hepatic dysfunction. The overall mortality rate was 27.3%. Twenty-nine patients had septic shock on admission with a mortality rate of 62.07%. Hypoxemia, metabolic acidosis and the presence of DIC were more frequent in non-survivors, who also had significantly higher SAPS-II on admission and days 3 and 7. Independent factors associated with mortality were older age, septic shock, DIC and acute renal failure on admission, as well as SAPS-II at all time points and lactic acid levels on day 7.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Septic patients with advanced age, septic shock, renal failure, DIC and metabolic acidosis on admission are at increased risk of mortality. The sustained presence of high SAPS-II and lactacidemia one week after admission are also important risk factors of poor outcome.
authors.affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Patras University, Greece. cgogos@med.upatras.gr
authors.forename: Charalambos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gogos
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lekkou
authors.forename: Ourania
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Papageorgiou
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siagris
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skoutelis
authors.forename: Harry P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Bassaris
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers