BACKGROUND Cardiopulmonary bypass induces a nonspecific inflammatory response. Procalcitonin has been advocated as a specific biomarker for infection. The authors studied the accuracy of procalcitonin to diagnose postoperative infection after cardiac surgery and compared it with those of C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and interleukins 6 and 8. METHODS The authors prospectively in...

In this study we have analysed the influence of temperature and time of storage and of repeated freezing on procalcitonin plasma concentrations ex vivo. We have also analysed the difference of procalcitonin concentrations in arterial or venous blood samples and the influence of different anticoagulation techniques on procalcitonin concentrations (serum, EDTA-, lithium-heparin- or citrate plasma...

procalcitonin (pct) is a prohormone that has been used as a marker for the diagnosis of bacterial infections. the aim of this study was to survey pct levels in patients with cirrhosis. sixty-four patients with hepatic cirrhosis and 32 healthy blood donors were enrolled in this study. serum pct levels was detected using immunoluminometric assay. the rate of positive pct was higher in patients wi...

UNLABELLED Procalcitonin has been shown to be useful in separating infection from non-infective disorders. However, infection is often paralleled by tissue inflammation. Most studies supporting the use of procalcitonin were confounded by more significant inflammation in the infection group. Few studies have examined the usefulness of procalcitonin when adjusted for inflammation.Pleural inflamma...

Objective(s) In the last few years, serum procalcitonin has been proposed as an early marker of infections in neonates, with varying results. In this study, we aimed to investigate the value of procalcitonin, and C- reactive protein in establishing the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Materials and Methods Blood samples were collected at admission from 69 neonates with suspected infection (admi...

Background and Aim: Considering the importance of sepsis and its complications in the mortality of the patients admitted to different parts of hospital and the importance of early diagnosis and timely and appropriate treatment in the patients' survival, we investigated the value of procalcitonin serum level for the differential diagnosis between infectious and non-infectious SIRS in the patient...

BACKGROUND Procalcitonin has been advocated as a marker of bacterial infection. OBJECTIVE To evaluate diagnostic markers of infection in critically ill children, comparing procalcitonin with C reactive protein and leucocyte count in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS Procalcitonin, C reactive protein, and leucocyte count were measured in 175 children, median age 16 months, on ...

Objective: Procalcitonin is considered a possible predictive marker of severity in the early phase of acute pancreatitis. The variations of procalcitonin levels after ERCP and its contribution to the determination of the severity of post-ERCP pancreatitis were studied. Methods: Serum procalcitonin was measured with immunoluminometric assay (normal<0.5ng/ml) in 196 patients who underwent ERCP. S...

References 1. Assicot M, Gendrel D, Carsin H, Raymond J, Guilbaud J, Bohuon C. High serum procalcitonin concentrations in patients with sepsis and infection. Lancet 1993;341:515–8. 2. Meisner M. PCT, procalcitonin—a new, innovative infection parameter. Berlin: Brahms Diagnostica, 1996. 3. Gramm HJ, Dollinger P, Beier W. Procalcitonin—ein neuer Marker der inflammatorischen Wirtsantwort. Longitud...