The Dynamical Assessment of Inflammatory Biomarkers in Predicting the Outcome of Septic Patients and the Response to Antimicrobial Therapy

AIMS: To evaluate the kinetics of inflammatory biomarkers in septic patients in order to identify the most reliable predictor of unfavorable outcome. METHODS: A prospective analysis of septic patients was performed. Median levels of neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin were dynamically assessed and comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients were included. Descendent kinetic patterns were registered for all biomarkers, except C-reactive protein. At 24 hours, neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio significantly decreased in 42.85% of cases, procalcitonin in 37.33%, C-reactive protein in 16.12% and fibrinogen in 1.58% of cases. At 72 hours, procalcitonin decreased to one-half in 70% of cases and neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio in 67.53% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio and procalcitonin significantly decreased in the first 72 hours, while C-reactive protein increased in the first 24 hours. The proportions of patients with major decrease of baseline values were higher for neutrophil/lymphocyte count ratio and procalcitonin.