Prognostic Outcomes in Patients With and Without Bacterial LRTI
| Outcome | Bacterial LRTI Present (n = 162) | Bacterial LRTI Absent, (n = 672) | Crude Analysis No. (95% CI) | Adjusted Analysis No. (95% CI)a | P Valueb | Missing No. (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to resolution of symptoms rated “moderately bad or worse,” median (IQR)d | 7 (5–15) | 7 (4–13) | 0.89 (0.74–1.07)c | 0.92 (0.77–1.11)c | .375 | 1 (0.1) |
| Symptom severity score on days 2 to 4 after consultation, mean (SD)d | 1.86 (1.07) | 1.67 (1.00) | 0.19 (0.02–0.37)e | 0.21 (0.04–0.38)e | .014 | 3 (0.4) |
| Duration of symptoms until complete resolution, median (IQR)d | 15 (10–28) | 13 (8–27) | 0.88 (0.71–1.10)c | 0.92 (0.74–1.15)c | .471 | 1 (0.1) |
| Worsening of illness, No. (%)d | 44/162 (27) | 114/660 (17) | 1.79 (1.20–2.67)f | 1.82 (1.21–2.74)f | .004 | 12 (1.4) |
| Duration of interference with normal activities/work, median (IQR)d | 6 (1–10) | 5 (0–9) | 0.91 (0.76–1.09)c | 0.91 (0.76–1.09)c | .321 | 6 (0.7) |
IQR = interquartile range; LRTI = lower respiratory tract infection.
↵a Adjusted for age (for each year increase), current smoking, comorbidity, and cough duration before index consultation.
↵b For adjusted analysis.
↵c Hazard ratio.
d Each symptom was scored by the patient from 0 to 6, with 0 = no problem, 1 = very little problem, 2 = slight problem, 3 = moderately bad, 4 = bad, 5 = very bad, 6 = as bad as it could be.
↵d The great majority of these represent return visits with new or worsening symptoms, and only 2 patients required hospital admission (1 from the bacterial LRTI group and 1 from the nonbacterial LRTI group) within 4 weeks after the first consultation. No study-related deaths were noted.
↵e Difference.
↵F Odds ratio.