Statistical analyses
Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 23.0. Continuous
variables were expressed as medians and ranges, and categorical
variables were expressed as numbers and percentages. For continuous
variables, Student’s t-tests were used to compare differences between
groups if the variables were normally distributed, and Mann-Whitney U
tests were used when they were non-normally distributed. The chi-squared
test or Fisher’s exact test was used for categorical variables. The
first blood culture initiation date was subtracted from the last
follow-up date to calculate the observation time, expressed in days.
Uni-variate and multi-variate logistic regression models were used to
assess the risk factors for the emergence of BSI, producing odds ratios
(OR) and 95.0% confidence intervals (CI). Cox proportional hazards
regression was used to assess the risk factors for 30-day mortality of
HM patients with BSIs, generating hazard ratios (HR) and 95.0%
confidence intervals. P-values were 2-sided, and a p value
<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.