Mortality Rate in Critically Ill Patients Diagnosed with Sepsis: Can Blood Culture Results Predict Mortality?
| Author | Roghayeh Asghari | en |
| Author | Tannaz Novin Bahador | en |
| Author | Tara Morshedzadeh | en |
| Author | Mostafa Ghasempour | en |
| Author | Ata Mahmoodpoor | en |
| Author | Hassan Soleimanpour | en |
| Orcid | Ata Mahmoodpoor [0000-0002-4361-6230] | en |
| Orcid | Hassan Soleimanpour [0000-0002-1311-4096] | en |
| Issued Date | 2026-02-28 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Sepsis remains a major cause of mortality among critically ill patients, and the prognostic value of microbiological culture results in sepsis outcomes remains controversial. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate differences in mortality between patients with culture-negative and culture-positive sepsis admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz, Iran, and to emphasize the importance of accurate diagnosis and management in hospitalized patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 150 patients with sepsis admitted to the general ICUs at Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz, Iran, over a 6-month period. Demographic characteristics, clinical variables, laboratory parameters, severity scores, culture results, and patient outcomes were collected using a structured checklist. Patients were categorized into culture-positive and culture-negative groups. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Results: Of the 150 patients, 86 (57.3%) had positive culture results. Patients with culture-positive sepsis had significantly longer ICU and hospital stays and higher crude hospital mortality than those with culture-negative sepsis (41% vs. 9.7%, P < 0.001). In the univariate analysis, culture-positive sepsis was strongly associated with increased hospital mortality (OR = 7.72; 95% CI, 2.81 - 21.19). However, after adjustment for age, sex, APACHE II score, C-reactive protein level, and diastolic blood pressure, culture positivity was no longer an independent predictor of mortality (adjusted OR = 3.30; 95% CI, 0.93 - 11.69). Increasing age remained independently associated with hospital mortality. Conclusions: Although culture-positive sepsis was associated with worse clinical outcomes and higher unadjusted mortality, it was not an independent predictor of hospital mortality after adjustment for key clinical and severity-related factors. These findings underscore that patient characteristics and illness severity are more important than culture status alone in predicting mortality among critically ill patients with sepsis. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5812/archcid-168271 | en |
| URI | https://brieflands.com/journals/archcid/articles/168271 | en |
| Keyword | Sepsis | en |
| Keyword | Septic Shock | en |
| Keyword | Intensive Care Unit | en |
| Keyword | Culture-negative | en |
| Keyword | Culture-positive | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Mortality Rate in Critically Ill Patients Diagnosed with Sepsis: Can Blood Culture Results Predict Mortality? | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |
Files
Original bundle
1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
- Name:
- archcid-21-1-168271-publish-pdf.pdf
- Size:
- 201 KB
- Format:
- Adobe Portable Document Format
- Description:
- Article/s PDF