Abstract
Background:
Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively new marker for bacterial infections, and its diagnostic utility has been variable across the studies. We investigated the diagnostic utility of PCT for the patients with blood culture-positive sepsis, and compared it with that of C-reactive protein (CRP).
Methods:
In 1,270 consecutive blood samples, PCT and CRP were simultaneously measured and results were compared according to the five categories of PCT concentrations (<0.05 ng/mL; 0.05-0.49 ng/mL; 0.5-1.99 ng/mL; 2-9.99 ng/mL; ≥10 ng/mL). In 506 samples, they were further analyzed according to the result of blood culture. PCT and CRP were measured using enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (bioMerieux Co., France) and rate nephelometry (Beckman Coulter Co., USA), respectively. Their diagnostic utilities were compared using ROC curves.
Results:
The mean concentrations of CRP in five categories of PCT were 15.4 mg/L, 42.1 mg/L, 101.2 mg/L, 125.0 mg/L, 167.1 mg/L, respectively (P< 0.0001). Both PCT and CRP showed significant differences between the two positive and negative groups of blood culture (PCT, 8.47 vs 2.44 ng/mL, P=0.0133; CRP, 110.48 vs 59.78 mg/L, P< 0.0001). The areas under the ROC curves (95% confidence interval) for PCT and CRP were 0.720 (0.644-0.788) and 0.558 (0.478-0.636), respectively, and showed a significant difference (P=0.005).
REFERENCES
1.Pfäfflin A., Schleicher E. Inflammation markers in point-of-care testing (POCT). Anal Bioanal Chem. 2009. 393:1473–80.
2.American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Conference: definitions for sepsis and organ failure and guidelines for the use of innovative therapies in sepsis. Crit Care Med. 1992. 20:864–74.
3.Levy MM., Fink MP., Marshall JC., Abraham E., Angus D., Cook D, et al. 2001 SCCM/ESICM/ACCP/ATS/SIS International Sepsis Definitions Conference. Crit Care Med. 2003. 31:1250–6.
4.Mitaka C. Clinical laboratory differentiation of infectious versus non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Clin Chim Acta. 2005. 351:17–29.
6.Becker KL., Snider R., Nylen ES. Procalcitonin assay in systemic inflammation, infection, and sepsis: clinical utility and limitations. Crit Care Med. 2008. 36:941–52.
7.Chua AP., Lee KH. Procalcitonin in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). J Infect. 2004. 48:303–6.
9.Luster AD. Chemokines-chemotactic cytokines that mediate inflammation. N Engl J Med. 1998. 338:436–45.
10.Simon L., Gauvin F., Amre DK., Saint-Louis P., Lacroix J. Serum pro-calcitonin and C-reactive protein levels as markers of bacterial infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Infect Dis. 2004. 39:206–17.
11.Whicher J., Bienvenu J., Monneret G. Procalcitonin as an acute phase marker. Ann Clin Biochem. 2001. 38:483–93.
12.Nijsten MW., Olinga P., The TH., de Vries EG., Koops HS., Groothuis GM, et al. Procalcitonin behaves as a fast responding acute phase protein in vivo and in vitro. Crit Care Med. 2000. 28:458–61.
13.Assicot M., Gendrel D., Carsin H., Raymond J., Guilbaud J., Bohuon C. High serum procalcitonin concentrations in patients with sepsis and infection. Lancet. 1993. 341:515–8.
14.Brunkhorst FM., Al-Nawas B., Krummenauer F., Forycki ZF., Shah PM. Procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and APACHE II score for risk evaluation in patients with severe pneumonia. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2002. 8:93–100.
15.Oberhoffer M., Vogelsang H., Russwurm S., Hartung T., Reinhart K. Outcome prediction by traditional and new markers of inflammation in patients with sepsis. Clin Chem Lab Med. 1999. 37:363–8.
16.Rau BM., Frigerio I., Büchler MW., Wegscheider K., Bassi C., Puolakkainen PA, et al. Evaluation of procalcitonin for predicting septic multiorgan failure and overall prognosis in secondary peritonitis: a prospective, international multicenter study. Arch Surg. 2007. 142:134–42.
17.Rau B., Krüger CM., Schilling MK. Procalcitonin: improved biochemical severity stratification and postoperative monitoring in severe abdominal inflammation and sepsis. Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2004. 389:134–44.
18.Liaudat S., Dayer E., Praz G., Bille J., Troillet N. Usefulness of procalcitonin serum level for the diagnosis of bacteremia. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2001. 20:524–7.
19.Whang KT., Steinwald PM., White JC., Nylen ES., Snider RH., Simon GL, et al. Serum calcitonin precursors in sepsis and systemic inflammation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998. 83:3296–301.
20.Uzzan B., Cohen R., Nicolas P., Cucherat M., Perret GY. Procalcitonin as a diagnostic test for sepsis in critically ill adults and after surgery or trauma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care Med. 2006. 34:1996–2003.
21.Boussekey N., Leroy O., Georges H., Devos P., d'Escrivan T., Guery B. Diagnostic and prognostic values of admission procalcitonin levels in community-acquired pneumonia in an intensive care unit. Infection. 2005. 33:257–63.
22.Thayyil S., Shenoy M., Hamaluba M., Gupta A., Frater J., Verber IG. Is procalcitonin useful in early diagnosis of serious bacterial infections in children? Acta Paediatr. 2005. 94:155–8.
23.Harbarth S., Holeckova K., Froidevaux C., Pittet D., Ricou B., Grau GE, et al. Diagnostic value of procalcitonin, interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 in critically ill patients admitted with suspected sepsis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001. 164:396–402.
24.Müller B., Becker KL., Schächinger H., Rickenbacher PR., Huber PR., Zimmerli W, et al. Calcitonin precursors are reliable markers of sepsis in a medical intensive care unit. Crit Care Med. 2000. 28:977–83.
25.Povoa P., Almeida E., Moreira P., Fernandes A., Mealha R., Aragao A, et al. C-reactive protein as an indicator of sepsis. Intensive Care Med. 1998. 24:1052–6.
Table 1.
Groups∗ | Total (N) | Blood culture (N) | Results of blood culture (N) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Negative | Positive | |||
I | 420 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
II | 487 | 334 | 306 (91.6%) | 28 (8.4%) |
III | 181 | 88 | 68 (77.3%) | 20 (22.7%) |
IV | 125 | 59 | 38 (64.4%) | 21 (35.6%) |
V | 57 | 25 | 11 (44%) | 14 (56.0%) |