Delayed interhospital transfer of critically ill patients with surgical sepsis.

Background: Suboptimal triage of critically ill patients with surgical sepsis may contribute to adverse outcomes. Patients transferred to a tertiary care center after spending 24 hours or longer at an outside facility were compared with patients who had early triage to a tertiary care center with the null hypothesis that management parameters and outcomes would be similar between groups.

Methods: This prospective observational cohort study included 308 patients treated for surgical sepsis in a surgical intensive care unit at a tertiary care center. Patients transferred after spending more than 24 hours at an outside facility (n = 69) were compared with patients who were directly admitted or transferred within 24 hours (n = 239). Patient characteristics, management parameters, and outcomes were compared between groups. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02276066).

Results: Average outside facility length of stay in the delayed transfer group was 43 hours. Delayed transfer patients had higher sequential organ failure assessment (7 vs. 5, p = 0.003) and APACHE II scores (19 vs. 16, p = 0.007) on admission. The interval between admission and source control was significantly longer in the delayed transfer group (12.1 hours vs. 1.0 hours, p = 0.009). The incidence of nosocomial infection was significantly higher in the delayed transfer group (41% vs. 23%, p = 0.005). Delayed transfer was independently associated with a 10-day increase in hospital length of stay. Delayed transfer patients were less likely to be discharged home (22% vs. 59%, p < 0.001) and suffered twofold higher in-hospital mortality (14.5% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.056).

Conclusion: Patients with surgical sepsis who spent more than 24 hours at an outside facility prior to transfer had greater initial illness severity, longer intervals between admission and source control, and more nosocomial infections compared with patients who had early triage to a tertiary care center.

Level Of Evidence: Care management/therapeutic, Level IV; Epidemiologic/prognostic, Level III.