Is procalcitonin useful in early diagnosis of serious bacterial infections in children?

• Published in: Acta pædiatrica (Oslo) 2005-02, Vol.94 (2), p.155-158
• Main Authors: THAYYIL, Sudhin, SHENOY, Mohan, HAMALUBA, Mainga, GUPTA, Anil, FRATER, John, VERBER, Ian G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacteremia - diagnosis; Bacterial Infections - diagnosis; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Calcitonin - blood; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Child, Preschool; General aspects; Humans; Infant; Medical sciences; Meningitis, Bacterial - diagnosis; Pneumonia, Bacterial - diagnosis; Prospective Studies; Protein Precursors - blood; Pyelonephritis - diagnosis; Pyelonephritis - microbiology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Statistics, Nonparametric
• ISSN: 0803-5253; 1651-2227
• DOI: 10.1080/08035250410025140

To compare diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin for early diagnosis of serious bacterial infection (SBI) in children presenting with fever and no focus of infection. Prospective, observational study involving 72 children (1-36 mo) presenting to the paediatric units of two university hospitals. All children had blood cultures, urine cultures, white blood cell counts (WBC), chest X-ray, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) done at presentation. Eight (11.1%) children had SBI (1 pneumonia, 2 meningitis, 4 septicaemia/occult bacteraemia, 2 pyelonephritis), 19 (26.4%) had possible bacterial infection (received antibiotic treatment, but no organism grown) and 45 (62.5%) had viral or possible viral infection (virus isolated and/or uneventful recovery without antibiotics). PCT (>2 ng/l), CRP (>50 mg/l) and McCarthy's score (50 mg/l), PCT (>2 ng/l), white blood cells (>15 x 10(5)/l) and McCarthy's score (