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

Table 4 Sepsis screening tools and biomarkers at fever onset

Parameter	Total (n = 80)	Infectious (n = 34)	Non-infectious (n = 31)	P value
Sepsis screening tools
SIRS, median (IQR)	3 (3-4)	3 (3-4)	3 (3-4)	0.949
SIRS ≥ 2, n (%)	78 (97.5)	33 (97.1)	31 (100)	1.000
qSOFA, median (IQR)	2 (1-2)	2 (1-2)	2 (1-2)	0.957
qSOFA ≥ 2, n (%)	57 (71.3)	25 (73.5)	21 (67.7)	0.608
SOFA, median (IQR)	6 (4-8)	6.5 (4-8.3)	6 (3-8)	0.736
NEWS, median (IQR)	12 (9-14)	12.5 (9.5-8.3)	12 (8-14)	0.726
NEWS ≥ 7, n (%)	67 (83.8)	28 (82.4)	27 (87.1)	0.736
qNEWS, median (IQR)	6 (3-6)	5 (3-6)	6 (3-6)	0.496
MEWS, median (IQR)	6 (4.25-8)	7 (5-8)	6 (5-8)	0.863
Sepsis biomarkers
Procalcitonin (μg/L), median (IQR)	1.9 (0.5-12.1)	2.8 (0.8-25.9)	1.0 (0.5-4.6)	0.156
C- reactive protein (mg/L), median (IQR)	123.0 (55.9-225.6)	107.2 (50.5-209.0)	136.5 (51.9-245.3)	0.566

SIRS: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome; qSOFA: Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; SOFA: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; NEWS: National Early Warning Score; qNEWS: Quick National Early Warning Score; MEWS: Modified Early Warning Score; IQR: Interquartile range.