title: Serum procalcitonin concentration in patients with Kawasaki disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Procalcitonin (PCT) is a new parameter of inflammation, the clinical usefulness of which is currently being evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We determined simultaneously the serum concentrations of PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as the white blood cell (WBC) count in 25 patients with Kawasaki disease (KD), 17 with bacterial infections, 10 with systemic autoimmune diseases, 17 with viral infections and 18 healthy children. The optimal cut-off value of each parameter for predicting coronary aneurysms was determined using receiver operating characteristic curves.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly higher serum concentrations of PCT were observed in patients with KD (2.3 +/- 3.0 ng/ml) and bacterial infections (2.2 +/- 2.9 ng/ml) than in patients with autoimmune diseases (0.4 +/- 0.4 ng/ml) or viral infections (0.4 +/- 0.3 ng/ml), or in healthy children (0.2 +/- 0.1 ng/ml). The serum PCT but not the WBC count or CRP, differentiated the KD patients from the patients with autoimmune diseases. The optimal cut-off value of 3.0 ng/ml of PCT increased the prediction rate of coronary aneurysms that subsequently occurred in 4 (16%) patients with KD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The serum PCT may be clinically useful for determining the severity of KD and for narrowing the differential diagnosis of patients with inflammatory diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gunma University School of Medicine, Showa-machi 3-39-22, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan. ysokada@showa.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Hisanori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Minakami
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomomasa
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yoshinari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Kunihisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kozawa
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morikawa
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000097:blood; D005719:gamma-Globulins / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D005719:gamma-Globulins; D002116:Calcitonin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D001241:Aspirin