title: Granulocyte elastase compared to C-reactive protein for early diagnosis of septicemia in critically ill patients.
abstract: Plasma levels of granulocyte elastase and C-reactive protein were measured 0, 12, 24 and 48 h after suspicion of septicemia in 64 critically ill patients. Initial elastase levels were higher in 16 bacteremic patients (mean 773 micrograms/l) than in 48 non-bacteremic patients (mean 341 micrograms/l, p less than 0.01), whereas C-reactive protein levels were similar in both groups. At a level of 100% sensitivity for the early detection of septicemia, increased elastase was less than 50% specific, indicating limited diagnostic usefulness in this setting.
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018805:Sepsis / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase