Associations of the Serum Total Carbon Dioxide Level with Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Sepsis Survivors

Abstract Introduction Sepsis is characterized by a dysregulated host response to infection that leads to multiple organ dysfunction and often complicated with metabolic acidosis. However, the associations between serum total carbon dioxide level (TCO2) and long-term clinical outcomes in sepsis survivors remains unknown. Methods A total of 7212 sepsis survivors aged ≥ 20 years who were discharged from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2018 were included in our analyses. The sepsis survivors were further divided into high TCO2 (≥ 18 mmol/L) and low TCO2 (