Table 4 Summary of principle subgroup differences and similarities

Mortality

The SIRS compared to the sepsis working diagnosis category was associated with higher mortality in neurosurgical encounters, while mortality in both categories was similar in non-neurosurgical encounters (Additional file 1: Table S6)

SOFA score

SOFA scores in both referral groups showed overall no differences between SIRS and sepsis as well as severe sepsis except for higher values with non-neurosurgical GTSQs carrying a severe sepsis label (Fig. 13)

Acute organ dysfunction (Item 9)

The proportion of GTSQs with a label for acute organ dysfunction was higher in neurosurgical GTSQs with a SIRS than sepsis label, mainly due to lung and brain dysfunction (Fig. 14a). In the non-neurosurgery GTSQs by contrast, acute organ dysfunction declined from SIRS to sepsis for almost all organ systems (Fig. 14b)

Macrocirculatory abnormalities (Item 7)

Circulatory problems were much more prevalent among the non-neurosurgical GTSQs (Additional file 1: Table S7). Nevertheless, in the GTSQs from both referral groups macrocirculatory abnormalities were more frequently associated with SIRS than sepsis, while a more frequent association of macrocirculatory abnormalities with SIRS than with severe sepsis was only seen in the non-neurosurgical GTSQs

Daily ranking of illness severity (Item 1)

In both referral groups, GTSQs with a SIRS label compared to a sepsis label were relatively more often associated with assignment to the three most severely ill patients (Additional file 1: Table S7)