Gender not an important factor for outcomes from septic shock

There appears to be no gender difference in terms of short- and long-term outcomes in mortality and quality of life (QoL) after septic shock, a new study suggests.

Researchers conducted a posthoc analysis of the Australasian Resuscitation in Sepsis Evaluation cohort study (mean age, 62±17.3 years; 40.3 percent female). The co-primary outcomes were the difference in mortality rates 90 days after randomization, compared between male and female participants overall and when stratified by menopausal status.

Mortality rates were 18.2 percent (n=116) and 19.1 percent (n=181) in the male and female subpopulations, respectively. The resulting difference was not statistically significant (p=0.65).

This trend remained true after adjusting for confounders and stratifying according to age (≤50 years: adjusted odds ratio [OR] for females, 0.91, 95 percent confidence intervals [CI], 0.46–1.89; p=0.85; >50 years: adjusted OR for females, 1.10, 95 percent CI, 0.81–1.49; p=0.56). There were also no gender differences in terms of cause of death.

Gender likewise did not play a significant role in terms of death at 1 year, in the intensive care unit and while still admitted in the hospital.

Health-related QoL analysis was possible for 85.3 percent (n=390) of females and 85.0 percent (n=550) of males 12 months after randomization. Between-gender differences were likewise null for mean utility scores in the EuroQoL-5D-3L tool (females vs males: 0.62±0.35 vs 0.66±0.32; p=0.07). There was also no significant change in health-related QoL from baseline in both gender subgroups.