Comparison of demographic and clinical characteristics among severe sepsis patients with community-acquired pneumonia who received initial macrolide versus non-macrolide therapy
| Variable | Non-macrolide | Macrolide | p-value |
| Patients n | 133 | 104 | |
| Age yrs | 63.3±17.1 | 58.8±15.8 | 0.2 |
| Male | 109 (82.0) | 80 (76.9) | 0.3 |
| Pre-existing comorbid conditions | |||
| Congestive heart failure | 34 (25.6) | 19 (18.3) | 0.2 |
| History of stroke | 30 (22.6) | 8 (7.7) | 0.002 |
| Chronic liver disease | 17 (12.8) | 11 (10.6) | 0.6 |
| History of malignancy | 18 (13.5) | 7 (6.5) | 0.09 |
| Renal insufficiency | 34 (25.6) | 14 (13.5) | 0.02 |
| Chronic obstructive lung disease | 39 (29.3) | 22 (21.2) | 0.2 |
| History, physical, laboratory and radiographical data | |||
| Altered mental status | 36 (27.1) | 32 (30.8) | 0.5 |
| Respiratory rate >30 min−1 | 19 (14.3) | 14 (13.5) | 0.2 |
| Systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg | 8 (6.0) | 8 (7.7) | 0.6 |
| Cardiac frequency >125 min−1 | 25 (18.8) | 19 (18.3) | 0.9 |
| Temperature <95°F or >104°F | 3 (2.3) | 3 (2.9) | 0.8 |
| Arterial pH <7.35 | 19 (14.3) | 18 (17.3) | 0.5 |
| Pa,O2 <90% | 39 (29.3) | 42 (40.4) | 0.07 |
| Pa,O2/Fi,O2 ratio ≤250 | 51 (38.4) | 60 (57.7) | 0.07 |
| Haematocrit <30% | 12 (9.0) | 14 (13.5) | 0.3 |
| Serum blood urea nitrogen >30 mg·dL−1 | 75 (56.4) | 49 (47.1) | 0.2 |
| Serum glucose >250 mg·dL−1 | 20 (15.0) | 13 (12.5) | 0.6 |
| Serum sodium <130 mEq·L−1 | 18 (13.5) | 26 (25.0) | 0.02 |
| Pleural effusion | 36 (27.1) | 30 (28.8) | 0.8 |
| Multilobar infiltrates | 58 (43.9) | 55 (52.9) | 0.2 |
| Processes of care measures | |||
| Appropriate blood cultures | 108 (81.20) | 86 (82.7) | 0.8 |
| Guideline-concordant antibiotic therapy | 84 (63.2) | 101 (97.1) | <0.001 |
| Antibiotic administration within 4 h | 39 (29.3) | 37 (35.6) | 0.3 |
Data are presented as mean±sd or n (%), unless otherwise stated. Pa,O2: arterial oxygen tension; Fi,O2: inspiratory oxygen fraction.