LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Procalcitonin Evaluated as Sepsis Diagnostic Marker

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 27 Feb 2019
Print article
Image: Procalcitonin (PCT) levels and their relation to the clinical sepsis and septic shock (Photo courtesy of Technology Networks).
Image: Procalcitonin (PCT) levels and their relation to the clinical sepsis and septic shock (Photo courtesy of Technology Networks).
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection and occurs when the body's response to chemicals released into the bloodstream is out of balance, triggering changes that can damage multiple organ systems.

Sepsis can progress to septic shock when certain changes in the circulatory system, the body's cells and how the body uses energy become more abnormal. Septic shock is more likely to cause death than sepsis is. The recent definition of sepsis was modified based on a scoring system focused on organ failure (Sepsis-3).

Scientists at the Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine (Wonju, Republic of Korea) conducted a study to verify the predictability of procalcitonin (PCT) for diagnosing sepsis based on Sepsis-3 definition. The team performed a retrospective cohort study and enrollees included patients whose PCT was measured on the emergency department (ED) arrival and had final diagnosis related infection. The patients were categorized by infection, sepsis, or septic shock followed by Sepsis-3 definition.

Pre-septic shock” was defined when a patient was initially diagnosed with sepsis, following which his/her mean arterial blood pressure decreased to under 65 mmHg refractory to fluid resuscitation and there was need for vasopressor use during ED admission. The scientists enrolled 866 patients in the final analysis. There were 287 cases of infection, 470 cases of sepsis, and 109 cases of septic shock. An optimal cutoff value for diagnosing sepsis was a PCT of 0.41 ng/dL (sensitivity: 74.8% and specificity: 63.8%; AUC: 0745), septic shock was 4.7 ng/dL (sensitivity: 66.1% and specificity: 79.0%; AUC: 0.784), and “pre-septic shock” was 2.48 ng/dL (sensitivity: 72.8%, specificity: 72.8%, AUC: 0.781), respectively.

The authors concluded that PCT is a reliable biomarker to predict sepsis or septic shock according to the Sepsis-3 definitions. The study was published in the February 2019 issue of the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Related Links:
Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine

Gold Member
Antipsychotic TDM Assays
Saladax Antipsychotic Assays
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Community-Acquired Pneumonia Test
RIDA UNITY CAP Bac
New
Toxoplasma Gondii Immunoassay
Toxo IgM AccuBind ELISA Kit

Print article

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The study investigated D-dimer testing in patients who are at higher risk of pulmonary embolism (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

D-Dimer Testing Can Identify Patients at Higher Risk of Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a commonly suspected condition in emergency departments (EDs) and can be life-threatening if not diagnosed correctly. Achieving an accurate diagnosis is vital for providing effective... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: Schematic representation illustrating the key findings of the study (Photo courtesy of UNIST)

Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours

Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.