Quality of life and pruritus in patients with severe sepsis resuscitated with hydroxyethyl starch long-term follow-up of a randomised trial

Table 1 Characteristics at randomization of responders and nonresponders.

	Responders (n= 190)	Nonresponders (n= 105)	P value
Allocated to HES - n (%)	98 (52)	42 (40)	0.06
Age - years	66 (59-74)	56 (49-66)	< 0.0001
Male gender - no. (%)	105 (55)	65 (62)	0.27
Included at university hospital - no. (%)	71 (37)	37 (35)	0.72
Surgery ¹ - no. (%)
Emergency	64 (34)	29 (28)	0.28
Elective	24 (13)	10 (10)	0.42
Source of sepsis ² - no. (%)
Lungs	80 (42)	59 (56)	-
Abdomen	73 (38)	24 (23)	-
Urinary tract	26 (14)	15 (14)	-
Soft tissue	23 (12)	15 (14)	-
Other	22 (12)	8 (8)	-
SAPS II	49 (38-58)	47 (34-55)	0.16
SOFA score ³	7 (5-9)	7 (5-9)	0.64
Shock ⁴ - no. (%)	160 (84)	76 (72)	0.02
Acute kidney injury ⁵ - no. (%)	71 (37)	34 (32)	0.39
Mechanical ventilation - no. (%)	98 (52)	59 (56)	0.45
Comorbidities
Diabetes mellitus - no. (%)	28 (15)	23 (22)	0.12
Arterial hypertension - no. (%)	81 (43)	33 (31)	0.06
Chronic renal disease⁶ - no. (%)	23 (13)	20 (21)	0.11
Hematological malignancy - no. (%)	15 (8)	3 (3)	0.08
Previous admission for - no. (%)
Heart failure or myocardial infarction	22 (12)	9 (9)	0.42
Stroke	13 (7)	11 (10)	0.27
Asthma or COPD	24 (13)	15 (14)	0.69

¹Numbers are for patients who underwent surgery during the index hospitalization, but before randomization. ²Some patients had more than one source of infection. The 'other' category included sepsis from a vascular catheter-related infection, meningitis, or endocarditis, as well as sepsis from unknown sources. ³The SOFA scoring was modified because cerebral failure was not assessed. ⁴Shock at randomization was defined as a mean arterial pressure of less than 70 mm Hg, the need for ongoing treatment with vasopressor or inotropic agents, or a plasma lactate level of more than 4.0 mmol per liter in the hour before randomization. ⁵Acute kidney injury was defined as a renal SOFA score of 2 or higher (plasma creatinine level > 170 μmol/l (1.9 mg/dl) or urinary output < 500 ml/d). ⁶Chronic renal disease was defined as a preadmission plasma creatinine > 100 μmol/l (1.2 mg/dl). HES, hydroxyethyl starch; SAPS, simplified acute physiology score; SOFA, sequential organ failure assessment, COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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