on behalf of the CAPNETZ Study Group ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value, in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), of procalcitonin (PCT) compared with the established inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocyte (WBC) count alone or in combination with the CRB-65 (confusion, respiratory rate o30 breaths?min -1 , low blood pressure (systolic value ,90 mmHg or diastolic value f60 mmHg) and age o65 yrs) score. In total, 1,671 patients with proven CAP were enrolled in the study. PCT, CRP, WBC and CRB-65 score were all determined on admission and patients were followed-up for 28 days for survival.In contrast to CRP and WBC, PCT levels markedly increased with the severity of CAP, as measured by the CRB-65 score. In 70 patients who died during follow-up, PCT levels on admission were significantly higher compared with levels in survivors. In receiver operating characteristic analysis for survival, the area under the curve (95% confidence interval) for PCT and CRB-65 was comparable (0.80 (0.75-0.84) versus 0.79 (0.74-0.84)), but each significantly higher compared with CRP (0.62 (0.54-0.68)) and WBC (0.61 (0.54-0.68)). PCT identified low-risk patients across CRB classes 0-4.In conclusion, procalcitonin levels on admission predict the severity and outcome of community-acquired pneumonia with a similar prognostic accuracy as the CRB-65 score and a higher prognostic accuracy compared with C-reactive protein and leukocyte count. Procalcitonin levels can provide independent identification of patients at low risk of death within CRB-65 (confusion, respiratory rate o30 breaths?min -1 , low blood pressure (systolic value ,90 mmHg or diastolic value f60 mmHg) and age o65 yrs) risk classes.

Later age of disease onset and lower incidence of colorectal cancer may contribute to a lower proportion of identified MSH6 mutations in families suspected of HNPCC. However, in approximately half of these families, at least one patient developed colorectal or endometrial cancer in the fourth decade of life. Therefore, a surveillance program as stringent as that for families with MLH1 or MSH2 mutations is recommended.