title: Procalcitonin in the diagnosis of inflammation in intensive care units.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of different procalcitonin cutoff values to distinguish non-infected (negative+SIRS) from infected (sepsis+severe sepsis+septic shock) medical and surgical patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  PCT plasma concentration was measured using an automated chemiluminescence analyzer in 1013 samples collected in 103 patients within 24 h of admission in ICU and daily during the ICU stay. We compared PCT levels in medical and surgical patients. We also compared PCT plasma levels in non-infected versus infected patients and in SIRS versus infected patients both in medical and in surgical groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median values of PCT plasma concentrations were significantly higher in infected than in non-infected groups, both in medical (3.18 vs. 0.45 microg/L) (p<0.0001) and in surgical (10.45 vs. 3.89 microg/L; p<0.0001) patients. At the cutoff of 1 microg/L, the LR+ was 4.78, at the cutoff of 6 microg/L was 12.53, and at the cutoff of 10 microg/L was 18.4.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the need of different PCT cutoff values in medical and surgical critically ill patients, not only at the ICU admission but also in the entire ICU stay.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Analisi Chimico Cliniche ed Ematologia, Ospedale Civile Maggiore, Azienda Ospedaliera di Verona, Piazzale Stefani 1, 37126 Verona, Italy. romolo.dorizzi@azosp.vr.it
authors.forename: Romolo M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Dorizzi
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Polati
authors.forename: Piersandro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sette
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rizzotti
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luzzani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve; D018805:Sepsis / Q000175:diagnosis; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000175:diagnosis; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide