Hypothermia or hyperthermia, which is associated with patient outcomes in critically ill children with sepsis? -A retrospective study

Objectives: In the early stage of sepsis, identifying high-risk paediatric patients with a poor prognosis and providing timely and adequate treatment are critical. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of average body temperature within 24 hours of admission on the short-term prognosis of paediatric patients with sepsis.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A single-centre, tertiary care hospital in China, containing patient data from 2010 to 2018.

Participants: 1144 patients with sepsis were included.

Intervention: None.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: The main outcome measure was in-hospital mortality, which was defined as death from any cause during hospitalisation. The secondary outcome was the length of hospital stay.

Results: The LOWESS method showed a roughly 'U'-shaped relationship between body temperature on the first day and in-hospital mortality. Multivariate logistic regression showed that severe hypothermia (OR 14.72, 95% CI 4.84 to 44.75), mild hypothermia (OR 3.71, 95% CI 1.26 to 10.90), mild hyperthermia (OR 3.41, 95% CI 1.17 to 9.90) and severe hyperthermia (OR 5.15, 95% CI 1.84 to 14.43) were independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality. Compared with other variables, the Wald χ² value of temperature on the first day minus the degree of freedom was the highest.

Conclusions: Whether hypothermic or hyperthermic, the more abnormal the temperature on the first day is, the higher the risk of in-hospital death in children with sepsis.