Abstract

BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and survival in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.
METHODS
We analyzed the sepsis registry of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary urban hospital and meeting the criteria for severe sepsis or septic shock from August 2008 to March 2012. We categorized patients into the underweight group (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), the normal weight group (18.5 < or = BMI < 25 kg/m2) and the obese group (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2). Then, we analyzed the registry to evaluate the relation between obesity and in-hospital mortality.
RESULTS
A total of 770 adult patients with severe sepsis and septic shock were analyzed. In-hospital mortality rate of the underweight group (n = 86), the normal weight group (n = 489) and the obese group (n = 195) was 22.1%, 15.3% and 16.4%, respectively. In a multivariate regression analysis, the underweight group had a significant association with in-hospital mortality compared with the normal weight group (odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-1.87; p = 0.028). The obese group showed no significant difference in mortality (OR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.08-3.86; p = 0.65).
CONCLUSIONS
The underweight patients showed significantly higher mortality than the normal weight patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

• Keywords: body mass index;mortality;sepsis;