LCT and infection: To further analyze the risk factors associated with the 28-day mortality in septic patients, we performed univariable Cox regression analysis using a range of variables, including gender, age, comorbidities, concurrent infection, APACHE II score, SOFA score, PCT, interleukin-6 (IL-6), lac, CRP, white blood cell (WBC) counts, neutrophile granulocyte (NEUT) counts, platelet (PLT) counts, hemoglobin (HGB), NLR, SII, international normalized ratio (INR), D-dimer, alanine transaminase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), ALB level, acute kidney injury (AKI) and septic shock (Table 2).