Diagnostic utility of sepsis screening tools, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein in nosocomial fever of unknown origin

Table 2 Sociodemographic profile, pre-existing conditions, and acute medical disorders, n (%)

Parameter	Total (n = 80)	Infectious (n = 34)	Non-infectious (n = 31)	P value
Age (years), mean ± SD	42.9 ± 16.5	39.2 ± 17.4	45.8 ± 14.1	0.098
Male gender	64 (80)	26 (76.5)	26 (83.9)	0.456
Pre-existing comorbidities
Any	48 (60)	21 (61.8)	20 (64.5)	0.818
Diabetes	19 (23.8)	7 (20.6)	8 (25.8)	0.618
Hypertension	14 (17.5)	7 (20.6)	4 (12.9)	0.409
Chronic kidney disease	8 (10)	2 (5.9)	4 (12.9)	0.413
Epilepsy	8 (10)	5 (14.7)	3 (9.7)	0.711
Coronary artery disease or heart failure	7 (8.8)	3 (8.8)	4 (12.9)	0.701
Miscellaneous1	11 (13.8)	5 (14.7)	5 (16.1)	-
Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR)	0 (0-2)	0 (0-1.25)	0 (0-2)	0.719
Age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR)	0 (0-2)	0 (0-2)	1 (0-2)	0.389
Substance use disorders2	20 (25)	5 (14.7)	9 (29)	0.161
Medical emergencies
Neurological disorders3	32 (40)	14 (41.2)	16 (51.6)	0.399
Toxicological disorders4	19 (23.7)	6 (17.6)	9 (29)	0.277
Gastro-intestinal disorders5	7 (8.75)	3 (8.8)	1 (3.2)	0.615
Renal disorders6	6 (7.5)	2 (5.9)	2 (6.5)	1.000
Miscellaneous7	16 (20)	9 (26.5)	3 (9.7)	-

¹Chronic liver disease (n = 4), bronchial asthma (n = 1), interstitial lung disease (n = 1), post-tuberculosis lung abnormalities (n = 1), parkinsonism (n = 1), major depressive disorder (n = 1), renal stone disease (n = 1), and Down’s syndrome (n = 1).

²Alcohol use (n = 11), smoking (n = 2), opioid use (n = 2), and multi-substance use (n = 5).

³Cerebrovascular disorders (n = 13), Guillain-Barré syndrome (n = 8), status epilepticus (n = 6), metabolic encephalopathy (n = 2), delirium (n = 2), and autoimmune encephalitis (n = 1).

⁴Pesticide toxicity (n = 7), drug overdose (n = 3), unknown poisoning (n = 4), snake envenomation (n = 3), and alcohol withdrawal syndrome (n = 2).

⁵Acute pancreatitis (n = 4), decompensated chronic liver disease (n = 2), and acute liver failure (n = 1).

⁶Chronic kidney disease complications (n = 5) and rapidly progressive renal failure (n = 1).

⁷Expanded dengue syndrome (n = 5), acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory disorders (n = 3), heart failure (n = 2), diabetic ketoacidosis (n = 2), Sjögren’s syndrome with hypokalemic paralysis (n = 2), immune thrombocytopenia with bleeding (n = 1), and mediastinal mass (n = 1).

IQR: Interquartile range.