ArticleEuropean journal of medical research2026
Antibiotic timing and progression to sepsis among patients in the ED for infection.
Article in European journal of medical research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTimely administration of antibiotics is critical in the management of infectious diseases, particularly in preventing progression to sepsis. Despite the urgency, the appropriate timing of antibiotic treatment, especially in non-septic infections, remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between antibiotic timing and progression to sepsis among patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) for suspected infection.
methodsA retrospective cohort study utilized data from three tertiary-care hospital EDs between January 2021 and June 2023. Adult patients hospitalized for clinical infection were included. The primary outcome was sepsis development, while secondary outcomes included hospital mortality, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, ICU length of stay (LOS), and hospital LOS. The main exposure was the duration from ED arrival to initial antibiotic administration. Multivariable logistic and negative binomial regression were employed to adjust for confounders and assess associations.
resultsThe study included 1279 infected adult patients, with 20.5% developing sepsis and 10.3% admitted to the ICU, resulting in 3.8% in-hospital deaths. The median time from ED arrival to initial antibiotic administration was 123 min (interquartile range(IQR), 79-241 min). Although per-hour delays in antibiotic administration showed association with sepsis development (Adjusted Odds Ratio(aOR) (95% CI) 1.071(1.044-1.099); P < 0.001), the primary threshold analysis demonstrated that significant associations with sepsis (aOR (95% CI), 3.468 (2.131-5.623); P < 0.001), in-hospital mortality (aOR 2.487, 95% CI 1.083-5.440; P = 0.026), adverse clinical outcomes, and prolonged LOS emerged only when delays exceeded 12 h. These findings were also confirmed by sensitivity analyses.
conclusionsThese hypothesis-generating findings suggest that, in non-severe infections, delays within 12 h might not be associated with significantly increased risks, potentially allowing time for diagnostic clarification without apparent harm. However, due to the observational nature of the study and potential biases, prospective studies are required to confirm these associations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.