BACKGROUND The value of serum and cerebrospinaL fluid (CSF) procalcitonin for differentiating between acute bacterial and viral meningitis was assessed and compared to other parameters which are usually used in clinical practice. PATIENTS 45 adult patients (20 with bacterial and 25 with tick-borne encephalitis, TBE) were included in this prospective study. RESULTS The median serum procalcit...

BACKGROUND/AIM To evaluate pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), procalcitonin, and troponin I levels as diagnostic markers of acute coronary syndrome in patients admitted to the emergency department. MATERIALS AND METHODS The serum PAPP-A, IMA, procalcitonin, and troponin I levels were measured in 100 patients with acute coronary syndrome admitted t...

Clinical signs of infection do not allow for correct identification of bacterial and viral aetiology in acute respiratory infections. A valid tool to assist the clinician in identifying patients who will benefit from antibiotic therapy, as well as patients with a potentially serious infection, could greatly improve patient care and limit excessive antibiotic prescriptions. Procalcitonin is a ...

OBJECTIVE This study was performed to determine the level of procalcitonin, Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), and uric acid in children with cardiomyopathy in comparison with controls and the association with echocardiographic findings. METHODS The levels of BNP, procalcitonin, and serum uric acid were measured and the amounts of biomarkers compared with echocardiographic findings. RESULTS I...

BACKGROUND Cellulitis is a common bacterial infection of the superficial skin. Procalcitonin is one of the precursor proteins of calcitonin, its levels are elevated in bacterial infection, and it has been established as a diagnostic marker for severe bacterial infections. OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the clinical usefulness of procalcitonin for predicting disease severity and prognosis of c...

INTRODUCTION Clinicians are in need of better diagnostic markers in diagnosing infections and sepsis. We studied the ability of procalcitonin, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, IL-6 and C-reactive protein to identify patients with infection and sepsis. METHODS Plasma and serum samples were obtained on admission from patients with suspected community-acquired infections and sepsis. Procalcit...

The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for use of routine procalcitonin testing to diagnose the presence of sepsis in the burn patient. The electronic databases MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL, ProQuest, and SCOPUS were searched for relevant studies using the MeSH terms burn, infection, procalcitonin, and meta-analysis. The focus of the review was the adult burn population, ...

BACKGROUND Serum procalcitonin levels have been used as a biomarker of invasive bacterial infection and recently have been advocated to guide antibiotic therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, rigorous studies correlating procalcitonin levels with microbiologic data are lacking. Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) have been linked to viral and bacterial ...

As a first step in studying the biosynthesis of the peptide hormone calcitonin, we have identified procalcitonin species in CA-77 cells, a newly developed rat medullary thyroid carcinoma cell line. mRNA extracted from the cells directed the synthesis of a putative procalcitonin in a reticulocyte lysate translation system containing microsomal membranes. Both this species and a radiolabeled form...

background and objective: according to the fact that neonatal infection is a challenging diagnosis field, several studies have tried to test sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests. this study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of procalcitonin (pct) as a single early marker of neonatal sepsis. materials and methods: in this study, 150 neonates admitted to nicu an...