Cargando…

Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever

PURPOSE: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a current, frequently used marker for severe bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of PCT levels to differentiate bacteremic from nonbacteremic patients with fever. We assessed whether PCT level could be used to accurately rule out a dia...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kim, Myeong Hee, Lim, Gayoung, Kang, So Young, Lee, Woo-In, Suh, Jin-Tae, Lee, Hee Joo
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3051230/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21319346
http://dx.doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2011.52.2.276
_version_ 1782199459703160832
author Kim, Myeong Hee
Lim, Gayoung
Kang, So Young
Lee, Woo-In
Suh, Jin-Tae
Lee, Hee Joo
author_facet Kim, Myeong Hee
Lim, Gayoung
Kang, So Young
Lee, Woo-In
Suh, Jin-Tae
Lee, Hee Joo
author_sort Kim, Myeong Hee
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a current, frequently used marker for severe bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of PCT levels to differentiate bacteremic from nonbacteremic patients with fever. We assessed whether PCT level could be used to accurately rule out a diagnosis of bacteremia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum samples and blood culture were obtained from patients with fever between August 2008 and April 2009. PCT was analyzed using a VIDAS® B.R.A.H.M.S PCT assay. We reviewed the final diagnosis and patient histories, including clinical presentation and antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: A total of 300 patients with fevers were enrolled in this study: 58 with bacteremia (positive blood culture) (group I); 137 with local infection (group II); 90 with other diseases (group III); and 15 with fevers of unknown origin (group IV). PCT levels were significantly higher in patients with bacteremia than in those with non-bacteremia (11.9 ± 25.1 and 2.5 ± 14.7 ng/mL, respectively, p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity were 74.2% and 70.1%, respectively, at a cut-off value of 0.5 ng/mL. A serum PCT level of < 0.4 ng/mL accurately rules out diagnosis of bacteremia. CONCLUSION: In febrile patients, elevated PCT may help predict bacteremia; furthermore, low PCT levels were helpful for ruling out bacteremia as a diagnosis. Therefore, PCT assessment could help physicians limit the number of prescriptions for antibiotics.
format Text
id pubmed-3051230
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2011
publisher Yonsei University College of Medicine
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-30512302011-03-09 Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever Kim, Myeong Hee Lim, Gayoung Kang, So Young Lee, Woo-In Suh, Jin-Tae Lee, Hee Joo Yonsei Med J Original Article PURPOSE: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a current, frequently used marker for severe bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of PCT levels to differentiate bacteremic from nonbacteremic patients with fever. We assessed whether PCT level could be used to accurately rule out a diagnosis of bacteremia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum samples and blood culture were obtained from patients with fever between August 2008 and April 2009. PCT was analyzed using a VIDAS® B.R.A.H.M.S PCT assay. We reviewed the final diagnosis and patient histories, including clinical presentation and antibiotic treatment. RESULTS: A total of 300 patients with fevers were enrolled in this study: 58 with bacteremia (positive blood culture) (group I); 137 with local infection (group II); 90 with other diseases (group III); and 15 with fevers of unknown origin (group IV). PCT levels were significantly higher in patients with bacteremia than in those with non-bacteremia (11.9 ± 25.1 and 2.5 ± 14.7 ng/mL, respectively, p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity were 74.2% and 70.1%, respectively, at a cut-off value of 0.5 ng/mL. A serum PCT level of < 0.4 ng/mL accurately rules out diagnosis of bacteremia. CONCLUSION: In febrile patients, elevated PCT may help predict bacteremia; furthermore, low PCT levels were helpful for ruling out bacteremia as a diagnosis. Therefore, PCT assessment could help physicians limit the number of prescriptions for antibiotics. Yonsei University College of Medicine 2011-03-01 2011-01-29 /pmc/articles/PMC3051230/ /pubmed/21319346 http://dx.doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2011.52.2.276 Text en © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2011 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Article
Kim, Myeong Hee
Lim, Gayoung
Kang, So Young
Lee, Woo-In
Suh, Jin-Tae
Lee, Hee Joo
Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever
title Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever
title_full Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever
title_fullStr Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever
title_full_unstemmed Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever
title_short Utility of Procalcitonin as an Early Diagnostic Marker of Bacteremia in Patients with Acute Fever
title_sort utility of procalcitonin as an early diagnostic marker of bacteremia in patients with acute fever
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3051230/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21319346
http://dx.doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2011.52.2.276
work_keys_str_mv AT kimmyeonghee utilityofprocalcitoninasanearlydiagnosticmarkerofbacteremiainpatientswithacutefever
AT limgayoung utilityofprocalcitoninasanearlydiagnosticmarkerofbacteremiainpatientswithacutefever
AT kangsoyoung utilityofprocalcitoninasanearlydiagnosticmarkerofbacteremiainpatientswithacutefever
AT leewooin utilityofprocalcitoninasanearlydiagnosticmarkerofbacteremiainpatientswithacutefever
AT suhjintae utilityofprocalcitoninasanearlydiagnosticmarkerofbacteremiainpatientswithacutefever
AT leeheejoo utilityofprocalcitoninasanearlydiagnosticmarkerofbacteremiainpatientswithacutefever