Early diagnostic value of serum procalcitonin levels for catheter-related blood stream infection in first-ever acute ischemic stroke patients

OBJECTIVE: The traditional approaches for diagnosing catheter-related bloodstream infection(CRBSI) is time consuming, which could not meet the clinical requirement. Our aim was to investigate the value of serum procalcitonin(PCT) in predicting CRBSI in first-ever acute ischemic stroke patients with central venous catheters (CVCs). METHODS: This was a retrospective study. First-ever acute ischemic stroke patients hospitalized in neurological intensive care unit(NICU) of Aerospace Center Hospital and NICU of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital during January 2010 and December 2017 with clinically suspected CRBSI were enrolled. Peripheral blood white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophils percentage(NE%), the levels of serum PCT, dwell time of catheterization and outcome of the patients were collected. According to the diagnosis of CRBSI or not, they were divided into CRBSI group and no CRBSI group. We used receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) to evaluate the value of serum PCT levels in predicting CRBSI in patients with clinically suspected CRBSI. RESULTS: Forty-five patients with suspected CRBSI were included in this study, and 13 patients were diagnosed with CRBSI. Comparing to those in no CRBSI group, the maximum body temperature (T(max)) (p = 0.036) and the PCT levels (P = 0.013) in CRBSI group were both significantly higher. The area under ROC of the serum PCT levels and the T(max) to predict the CRBSI were 0.803 (0.95CI,0.660–0.946) and 0.680 (0.95CI,0.529–0.832) respectively. The PCT cut-off value was 0.780 ng/ml, with the sensitivity 69.23%, specificity 87.50%, positive predictive values 69.23% and negative predictive values 87.50%. CONCLUSION: It could be helpful to adopt PCT as a rapid diagnostic biomarker for first-ever acute stroke patients with suspected CRBSI.