Evaluation of the effectiveness of arterial-venous carbon dioxide difference and oxygen content difference on patient outcomes in sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition characterized by organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Mortality rates associated with sepsis in intensive care units remain significantly high. In this study, 201 sepsis patients in the intensive care unit were prospectively evaluated between December 2023 and July 2024 to predict mortality and morbidity. In addition to demographic factors such as gender, age, and comorbidities, laboratory parameters including complete blood count, biochemistry, and blood gas parameters, which allow the calculation of the arterio-venous carbon dioxide difference (delta carbon dioxide) and oxygen content, were analyzed. Furthermore, patients' GCS, SOFA and APACHE II scores were recorded. In the study, increases in lactate, creatinine, AST, ALT, bilirubin, WBC, INR, neutrophil, CRP and procalcitonin levels, as well as decreases in albumin, hemoglobin, and platelet levels, were found to be significantly associated with mortality. Additionally, GCS, SOFA, and APACHE II scores were also found to be significant predictors of mortality. Consistent with the primary aim of our study, an increase in delta carbon dioxide levels and a decrease in oxygen content levels were determined to be statistically significant indicators of mortality (p<0.05). Our study highlights the significance of changes in delta carbon dioxide and oxygen content as important prognostic markers in sepsis patients. The increase in delta carbon dioxide levels and the decrease in oxygen content levels were found to be associated with mortality, indicating that these parameters can be effectively utilized in the clinical monitoring of sepsis patients.