title: The use of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of late-onset infection in neonatal intensive care unit patients.
abstract: We evaluated the semi-quantitative procalcitonin level for diagnosing late-onset infections in 176 neonates. Using a cut-off level of 0.5 ng/ml, the sensitivity was 84.4%+/-0.19, specificity was 93.9%+/-0.04, positive predictive value was 82.6%+/-0.1, and negative predictive value was 94.6%+/-0.04. Procalcitonin could be a useful marker of late-onset infection in neonates.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Chu Nantes, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Betrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Isidor
authors.forename: Gaelle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caillaux
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gilquin
authors.forename: Virgine
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Loubersac
authors.forename: Jocelyne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caillon
authors.forename: Jean Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Roze
authors.forename: Christèle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gras-le Guen
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide