Table 3 Baseline and clinical characteristics of the study population using optimal cut-off values for C-reactive protein and procalcitonin.

From: The usefulness of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin to predict prognosis in septic shock patients: A multicenter prospective registry-based observational study

Characteristics

Both CRP and PCT not elevated (n = 691)

Only CRP elevateda (n = 455)

Only PCT elevatedb (n = 276)

Both CRP and PCT elevated (n = 350)

p-value

Age, years

66.9 ± 13.9

68.9 ± 13.0

67.8 ± 13.9

66.7 ± 13.7

0.054

Male

415 (60.1)

265 (58.2)

180 (65.2)

185 (52.9)

0.016

Past medical history

Hypertension

247 (35.7)

194 (42.6)

116 (42.0)

166 (47.4)

0.002

Diabetes

202 (29.2)

119 (26.2)

89 (32.2)

121 (34.6)

0.056

Coronary artery disease

105 (15.2)

53 (11.6)

33 (12.0)

35 (10.0)

0.081

Stroke

87 (12.6)

56 (12.3)

26 (9.4)

42 (12.0)

0.571

Chronic pulmonary disease

57 (8.2)

45 (9.9)

16 (5.8)

26 (7.4)

0.246

Metastatic cancer

162 (23.4)

119 (26.2)

68 (24.6)

85 (24.3)

0.777

Vital signs at shock recognition

Systolic blood pressure, mmHg

91.8 ± 24.0

92.3 ± 24.1

83.0 ± 17.5

85.7 ± 22.6

<0.001

Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg

54.7 ± 15.9

55.5 ± 16.9

51.7 ± 12.0

53.9 ± 17.6

0.016

Pulse rate, beats/min

103.6 ± 23.7

106.9 ± 23.0

105.0 ± 22.3

109.5 ± 24.1

0.001

Infection focus

Pneumonia

223 (32.3)

183 (40.2)

54 (19.6)

100 (28.6)

<0.001

Urinary tract infection

142 (20.5)

103 (22.6)

85 (30.8)

116 (33.1)

<0.001

Hepatobiliary and pancreas infection

133 (19.2)

74 (16.3)

76 (27.5)

73 (20.9)

0.003

Gastrointestinal infection

136 (19.7)

69 (15.2)

46 (16.7)

52 (14.9)

0.126

Laboratory findings

White blood cell count (×103/μL)

9.6 [5.1–15.3]

11.6 [5.7–17.9]

9.5 [4.5–17.0]

10.5 [4.4–17.8]

0.058

Hemoglobin, g/dL

11.1 ± 2.5

10.7 ± 2.4

11.4 ± 2.7

11.2 ± 2.6

0.001

Creatinine, mg/dL

1.1 [0.8–1.6]

1.2 [0.9–2.0]

1.7 [1.2–2.5]

2.1 [1.4–2.9]

<0.001

Blood urea nitrogen, mg/dL

21.2 [15.0–31.0]

26.0 [18.7–39.0]

29.0 [20.8–40.3]

38.0 [28.0–51.9]

<0.001

Aspartate transaminase, IU/L

35.0 [23.0–69.3]

35.0 [23.0–60.0]

58.0 [28.0–148.0]

45.0 [29.0–93.3]

<0.001

Alanine transaminase, IU/L

23.0 [14.0–49.0]

23.0 [13.0–43.0]

35.5 [16.0–89.8]

29.0 [16.0–59.0]

<0.001

Initial lactate level, mmol/L

2.9 [1.7–5.0]

2.8 [1.7–4.7]

4.0 [2.4–6.5]

4.3 [2.7–6.4]

<0.001

CRP, mg/dL

5.1 [1.2–9.4]

22.0 [17.5–29.3]

5.5 [0.7–9.9]

25.0 [18.8–30.3]

<0.001

PCT, ng/mL

1.2 [0.4–5.4]

3.3 [1.0–8.1]

41.8 [24.5–66.7]

46.0 [25.6–94.9]

<0.001

Severity score

Maximum SOFA

7.0 [5.0–10.0]

7.0 [5.0–10.0]

9.0 [6.0–12.0]

10.0 [7.0–12.0]

<0.001

APACHE-II score

18.0 [12.0–24.0]

19.0 [14.0–26.0]

19.0 [13.3–26.0]

22.0 [15.0–28.0]

<0.001

28-day mortality

125 (18.1)

98 (21.5)

49 (17.8)

94 (26.9)

0.006

  1. Values were expressed as means ± standard deviation, medians [interquartile range], or numbers (%).
  2. aCRP elevation ≥14.0 mg/dL.
  3. bPCT elevation ≥17.0 ng/mL Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; PCT, procalcitonin; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation.
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