Bacteremic patients in the Emergency Department – how do they present and what is the diagnostic validity of temperature, CRP and SIRS?

Abstract

Background It might be a clinical challenge to identify patients with bacteremia. Blood cultures are often ordered based on the symptoms of fever and chills. Detailed knowledge of the clinical presentation of acute medical patients will improve the identification of bacteremic patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of temperature (°C), C-reactive-protein (CRP), and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) in bacteremic patients admitted to the Medical Emergency Department (ED).