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Table 1 Baseline characteristicsa

From: Prognostic value of procalcitonin in respiratory tract infections across clinical settings

Parameter

All (n =4,211)

Patients with treatment failure (n =864)

Patients without treatment failure (n =3,347)

Age (yr), median (IQR)

63 (44 to 76)

63 (45 to 76)

63 (44 to 76)

Men, n (%)

2,282 (54.2)

438 (50.7)

1,844 (55.1)

Clinical setting, n (%)

   

 Primary care

1,008 (23.9)

323 (37.4)

685 (20.5)

 Emergency department

2,605 (61.9)

410 (47.5)

2,195 (65.6)

 ICU

598 (14.2)

131 (15.2)

467 (14.0)

Primary diagnosis

   

 Total upper ARI, n (%)

549 (13.0)

185 (21.4)

364 (10.9)

  Common cold

305 (7.2)

105 (12.2)

200 (6.0)

  Rhinosinusitis, otitis

137 (3.3)

46 (5.3)

91 (2.7)

  Pharyngitis, tonsillitis

107 (2.5)

34 (3.9)

73 (2.2)

 Total lower ARI, n (%)

3,567 (84.7)

654 (75.7)

2,913 (87.0)

  Community-acquired pneumonia

2,027 (48.1)

430 (49.8)

1,597 (47.7)

  Hospital-acquired pneumonia

79 (1.9)

0 (0)

79 (2.4)

  Ventilator-associated pneumonia

242 (5.7)

20 (2.3)

222 (6.7)

  Acute bronchitis

531 (12.6)

105 (12.2)

426 (12.7)

  Exacerbation of COPD

584 (13.9)

80 (9.3)

504 (15.1)

  Exacerbation of asthma

30 (0.7)

5 (0.6)

25 (0.7)

  Unspecified lower ARI

74 (1.8)

14 (1.6)

60 (1.8)

Other final diagnosis, n (%)

95 (2.3)

25 (2.9)

70 (2.1)

Procalcitonin overall (μg/L), mean, median (SD, IQR)

2.5, 0.2 (11.4, 0.1 to 0.8)

4.4, 0.2 (18.7, 0.1 to 1.2)

2.0, 0.2 (8.4, 0.1 to 0.8)

  1. aARI, Acute respiratory tract infection; COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICU, Intensive care unit; IQR, Interquartile range; PCT, Procalcitonin; SD, Standard deviation.