title: [Procalcitonin for the diagnosis of late onset sepsis in newborns of very low birth weight].
abstract: Procalcitonin (PCT), a prohormone of calcitonin has been described as a specific biomarker of sepsis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the predictive value of PCT, C reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell count (WBC) for the diagnosis of late onset sepsis (LOS) in very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively determined the serum concentration of PCT, CRP and WBC in 53 VLBW newborns with clinical suspicion of LOS. 25 had confirmed sepsis with positive blood culture; 28 had clinical sepsis (negative blood cultures)
  
  
  RESULTS
  PCT levels were significantly higher in the infected group (3.0 ng/ml) compared to the non infected group (0.4 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). PCT had the highest area under the ROC curve 0.83 (95% CI 0.70-0.92) p = 0.001 compared to CRP 0.51 (95%CI 0.37-0.65) and WBC 0.53 (95%CI 0.38-0.66) for the diagnosis of LOS .The best PCT cut off value was 0.9 ng/ml. The sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value were 88%, 72% and 87%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The determination of PCT could be more useful than CRP and WBC in the diagnosis of LOS in VLBW newborns.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos, Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente, Concepción, Chile. robustos64@yahoo.com.ar
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bustos B
authors.forename: Heriberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Araneda C
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000097:blood*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide