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Table 1 Characteristics of study participants (n = 159)

From: Multicenter evaluation of a syndromic rapid multiplex PCR test for early adaptation of antimicrobial therapy in adult patients with pneumonia

  Overall n = 159 CAP n = 54 HAP n = 68 VAP n = 37
Clinical features
 Admission ward
  Intensive care unit 129 (81) 41 (76) 51 (75) 37 (100)
  Surgical unit 13 (8) 1 12 (18) –
  Medical unit 12 (7) 7 (13) 5 (7) –
  Emergency room 5 (4) 5 (9) – –
 Demographics
  Age, years 63 [55–72] 64 [55–74] 64 [56–71] 61 [53–69]
  Male 107 (67) 32 (59) 46 (67) 29 (78)
 Comorbid conditions
  Immune suppressiona 52 (33) 11 (20) 29 (43) 12 (32)
  Chronic pulmonary conditionsb 52 (33) 19 (35) 26 (38) 7 (19)
  Charlson score 2 [1–5] 2 [1–4] 3 [1–6] 2 [1–5]
 Severity of disease at inclusion
  SOFA score (in ICU patients) 6 [4–9] 6 [4–9] 6 [4–9] 6 [4–8]
  Septic shock 49 (31) 13 (24) 18 (27) 18 (49)
  Initiation of respiratory support 64 (40) 20 (37) 34 (50) –
  In-hospital death 45 (28) 14 (26) 13 (19) 18 (49)
Type of microbiological sampling
 Endotracheal aspiration 71 (45) 30 (55) 33 (49) 8 (22)
 Sputum 33 (21) 13 (24) 20 (29) –
 Bronchoalveolar lavage 34 (21) 4 (7) 13 (19) 17 (46)
 Blind bronchial sampling 21 (13) 7 (13) 2 (3) 12 (32)
Microbiology—conventional techniques
Escherichia coli 17 (11) 4 (7) 5 (7) 8 (22)
Pseudomonas aeruginosa 15 (9) 3 (6) 8 (12) 4 (11)
Staphylococcus aureus 15 (9) 3 (6) 4 (6) 8 (22)
Klebsiella pneumoniae group 10 (6) 2 (4) 5 (7) 3 (8)
Haemophilus influenzae 10 (6) 4 (7) 4 (6) 2 (5)
Streptococcus pneumoniae 6 (4) 3 (6) 3 (4) –
Enterobacter cloacae complex 7 (4) 1 5 (7) 1 (3)
Enterobacter aerogenes 4 (3) 1 2 (3) 1
Citrobacter freundii 2 (1) – 2 (3) –
Serratia marcescens 2 (1) – 1 1
Morganella morganii 2 (1) – – 2 (5)
Raoultella 2 (1) 1 – 1
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia 2 (1) – – 2 (5)
Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex 1 – – 1
Legionella pneumophila 1 1 – –
  1. Results are presented as n (%) or median [interquartile range]
  2. Conventional techniques include culture for all pathogens presented, apart from Legionella pneumophila which was detected using molecular techniques. Only pathogens cultured at pre-defined levels are presented (≥ 103 CFU/ml for blind bronchial sampling, ≥ 104 CFU/ml for bronchoalveolar lavage, ≥ 105 CFU/ml for endotracheal aspiration, and ≥ 107 CFU/ml for sputum samples)
  3. aImmunosuppression was defined as leucopenia < 1 Giga/L, HIV infection, history of solid organ or stem cell transplantation, and immunosuppressive treatment including corticosteroids over 10 mg/day of equivalent prednisone for more than 15 days
  4. bChronic pulmonary condition included patients with history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, and chronic respiratory insufficiency
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Critical Care

ISSN: 1364-8535