Is procalcitonin correctly used in medical and surgical departments only in cases with severe bacterial infections? Correlations with the severity scores used in the ICU.

Victoria Birlutiu; Rare Mircea Birlutiu

Abstract

Is procalcitonin correctly used in medical and surgical departments only in cases with severe bacterial infections? Correlations with the severity scores used in the ICU.

The use of procalcitonin (PCT) in the diagnosis of severe bacterial infections has been tested and proven by numerous international studies. We intend to evaluate how PCT is used in patient admission in various medical and surgical departments and the correlations between PCT and severity scores used for patients in critical state. The death rate correlated with the PCT values above 10 ng/ml and thrombocytopenia, APACHE II score and with a mean SOFA score of 8. For a cutoff value of 0.5 ng/ml in our study the sensitivity of the PCT was 86% with 91% specificity. Placing PCT in a key step in the schemes of the management of patients suspected of sepsis is an important factor in determining the strategy that should be followed, the antibacterial and immunological therapy and the treatment costs implication. Procalcitonin remains so far the best pro-inflammatory marker used in the management of patients with severe bacterial infections.

Author(s): Victoria Birlutiu, Rare Mircea Birlutiu
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