PURPOSE: Although procalcitonin (PCT) has been described as a marker of infection and inflammation, it has not been extensively studied in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), end stage renal disease, or renal transplant.
METHODS: PCT was routinely tested in 82 (56 dialyzed patients and 28 renal transplant recipients) consecutive cases with a strong clinical suspicion of infection, during a 6-month period, in a single referral unit.
RESULTS: During the study period, 58/82 cases had confirmed infections as per definition. Patients with confirmed infections had higher values for PCT [median = 2.5 ng/mL, interquartile range (IR) = 0.9-5 ng/mL] than those without (median = 0.3 ng/mL, IR = 0.1-0.5 ng/mL), p < 0.001. Overall, for a cutoff value of 0.5 ng/mL, the sensitivity of the test was 93.1 % and the specificity 78.6.
CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that significantly elevated PCT concentrations offer good sensitivity and specificity for the early diagnosis of systemic bacterial infection in patients with CKD.
Written by:
Dumea R, Siriopol D, Hogas S, Mititiuc I, Covic A. Are you the author?
Dialysis and Renal Transplantation Center, "Dr. C.I. Parhon" University Hospital, B-dul Carol I, nr. 50, Iasi, Romania.
Reference: Int Urol Nephrol. 2013 Aug 30. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1007/s11255-013-0542-8
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23990496
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