Expression of inflammatory factors and distribution of pathogens in patients with septic shock and their correlation with prognosis: a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between inflammatory factors, pathogen distribution, and prognosis in patients with septic shock admitted to the emergency department of internal medicine. A total of 140 patients with septic shock admitted to the emergency department of The Third People's Hospital of Chengdu, China, from January 2021 to January 2023 were selected for analysis of the distribution of pathogens and infection sites. Patients were divided into death (36 cases) and survival groups (104 cases) based on their condition after 28 days of treatment. A total of 174 pathogenic bacteria strains were cultured, including 124 Gram-negative bacteria (71.26%) and 43 Gram-positive bacteria (24.71%). The main infection sites were the lungs (33.57%) and the abdominal and gastrointestinal tracts (25.00%). The distribution of pathogens and infection sites in the survival and death groups were compared (P > 0.05). The regression equation predicted patient mortality, with the area under the ROC curve of 0.860 (95% CI: 0.792-0.929; P < 0.05), and sensitivity and specificity of 88.90% and 73.10%, respectively. Pathogen distribution in patients with septic shock in the internal medicine emergency department was not related to prognosis; however, inflammatory factors such as CRP and PCT were predictive of outcomes. Along with age, APACHE II score, and SOFA score, they demonstrated significant prognostic value for patient mortality.