title: Procalcitonin in liver transplant patients--yet another stone turned.
abstract: Liver transplantation has been reported to initiate increases in procalcitonin levels, in the absence of bacterial infection. The results of a study investigating the course of procalcitonin levels over several days after liver transplantation in noninfected patients were recently reported in Critical Care. This study shows that procalcitonin levels increase only transiently, immediately after surgery, and thereafter they rapidly decrease. This new information gives us hope that procalcitonin can be used as a marker of bacterial infection in these patients. Further studies of patients undergoing liver transplantation with and without bacterial infection are needed.
authors.forename: Jens-Ulrik
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Jens D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lundgren
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D015415:Biomarkers; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide