Table 2

Characteristics of patients with and without surgical treatment

Parameter
Without surgery (n = 13)
With surgery (n = 20)
P-value

Age (yr)
60.4 ± 13.3
58.4 ± 12.6
0.55
APACHE III score (points)
84 ± 34
69 ± 30
0.17
Temperature (°C)
37.1 ± 1.2
37.2 ± 1.5
0.78
Platelets (×109/l)
162 ± 116
139 ± 92
0.67
WBC (×109/l)
18.7 ± 12.8
15.6 ± 6.2
0.27
Heart rate (bpm)
106 ± 34
106 ± 17
0.74
C-reactive protein (mg/dl)
13.7 ± 7.4
9.4 ± 7.1
0.06
Illness duration (days)
18.1 ± 24.2
24.5 ± 28.4
0.45
AV-block II or III
2
4
0.81
Acute renal failure
6
7
0.47
Catecholamine therapy
9
15
1.00
Mechanical ventilation
12
14
0.15
Congestive heart failure
8
13
0.56
Septic shock
1
6
0.14
Multiorgan failure
11
10
0.07
CPR before admission
3
0
0.06
Aortic valve endocarditis
9
14
0.96
Mitral valve endocarditis
6
8
0.73
Native valve endocarditis
11
14
0.30
Prosthetic valve endocarditis
2
5
0.42

Continuous variables are presented as median ± SD (range), and categorical measures are presented as n. AV, atrioventricular; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; WBC, white blood cell count.

Delle Karth et al. Critical Care 2002 6:149   doi:10.1186/cc1474