Culture-Negative Severe Sepsis: Nationwide Trends and Outcomes

journal.publications.chestnet.org February 2, 2017

CNSS among hospitalized patients is common, and its proportion is on the rise. CNSS is associated with greater acute organ dysfunction and mortality. Having CNSS is an independent predictor of death. Of 6,843,279 admissions of patients with severe sepsis, 3,226,406 (47.1%) had culture-negative results. The age-adjusted proportion of CNSS increased from 33.9% in 2000 to 43.5% in 2010 (P < .001).