Usefulness of procalcitonin rapid test for the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis in children in the emergency department.
BACKGROUND
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common problem in children. The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of the procalcitonin (PCT) rapid test in the diagnosis of renal involvement in children with urinary tract infection.


METHODS
Through a case series study, PCT and C-reactive protein rapid tests were measured in children with proven UTI at the Tehran Children's Medical Center, Iran. One-hundred patients aged 1 month-14 years old (19 boys and 81 girls) with documented UTI were enrolled in the study.


RESULTS
Of 100 children, 62 patients (62%) had renal involvement on the basis of abnormal Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy and 38 patients (38%) had infection restricted to the lower urinary tract. There were no differences related to age or gender among the groups. The sensitivity and specificity of PCT were 77% and 89%, respectively, in prediction of renal involvement, whereas C-reactive protein had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 65%.


CONCLUSIONS
We concluded that a rapid determination of PCT concentration could be useful for the management of children with febrile UTI in the emergency room.
Nikfar
Roya
R
Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Abuzar Children's Medical Center Hospital, Ahvaz Jondishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. nikfarroya@yahoo.com
Khotaee
Ghamartaj
G
Ataee
Nematolah
N
Shams
Sedigheh
S
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D011704:Pyelonephritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000150:complications
C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide