Evaluation of quick sequential organ failure assessment and systemic inflammatory response syndrome in patients with gram negative bloodstream infection

Background: The quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score predicts mortality in patients with suspected infection. We sought to understand how well qSOFA and the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) criteria predict gram negative bacteraemia. Methods: We prospectively evaluated 99 patients with gram negative bloodstream infection from a single tertiary centre. We assessed the utility of SIRS and qSOFA for their rate of positivity and association with early delivery of antibiotics (<3 h). Results: The SIRS criteria had the highest positivity rate amongst patients with gram negative bacteraemia (85%) compared to the qSOFA criteria (25%) on the day of first positive culture. Positive SIRS criteria was the only score associated with delivery of antibiotics within 3 h (Relative risk 3.5, 95% Confidence interval 1.3 to 12.5, p = < 0.02). Conclusion: In patients with gram negative bloodstream infection SIRS criteria was the most common positive risk score and had a higher association with early delivery of antibiotics when compared to qSOFA.