Comparison between procalcitonin and C-reactive protein for early diagnosis of children with sepsis or septic shock

Abstract

PCT was better than CRP for diagnosing sepsis and septic shock, mainly at admission, and is related to disease severity.

Role of hepcidin in the diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock in children

“…In addition, the comparison of WBC, CRP, PCT, IL-6, and hepcidin values in a diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock is very important. In distinguishing between sepsis and noninfective causes of inflammation in children and adults, the results of our study are consistent with the literature in that the specificity of PCT was higher than that of CRP, but they differ from the literature in that the sensitivity of CRP was higher than that of PCT (14)(15)(16)(17)(18). It was found in many child and adult studies that sepsis severity was associated with PCT and IL-6 but not associated with CRP (15,17,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24).…”

Procalcitonin as an early predictor of postoperative infectious complications in patients with acute traumatic spinal cord injury

“…6,17 Many studies found that PCT was an excellent early predictor or diagnostic parameter superior to CRP. 6,7 Early diagnosis of a postoperative infectious complication is essential for timely and adequate treatment of this condition. However, some subsequent studies have shown opposite results, 10,18 and the prognostic and/or diagnostic value of this parameter still remains controversial.…”

“…5 Measurement of PCT in particular has gained interest because it is a quantitative test that exhibits predictable value and is more responsive to postoperative events compared with CRP and ESR. [6][7][8] Nevertheless, in current clinical practice, PCT are not widely used as routine screening tests in the early postoperative period, with most surgeons relying on the leukocyte count, CRP and ESR despite evidence that these are poor diagnostic tests. 9 PCT was already used in several other studies to predict postoperative infections after several different operations, [5][6][7][8]10,11 however, the predictive value of serum PCT in detecting postoperative infectious complications in spinal cord injury patients has not been studied.…”

Immune regulation of procalcitonin: a biomarker and mediator of infection

“…[1] in 1993, which reported high serum procalcitonin (PCT) concentration in patients with sepsis and infection, considerable interest has been generated regarding this molecule. The enthusiasm was greatly enhanced when PCT was suggested as a more accurate and specific biomarker than other traditional acute phase molecules, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), with which to differentiate bacterial from other infectious agents such as viruses [2][3][4]. PCT has proven to be a biomarker with good negative predictive value [5][6][7].…”