title: Usefulness of procalcitonin for severity assessment in patients with acute cholangitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the present study was to examine the usability of procalcitonin (PCT) for severity assessment in patients with acute cholangitis (AC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum PCT concentrations were measured on admission in patients with AC. Patients were classified with mild, moderate, or severe AC based on severity assessment guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included 159 treatment-naïve patients with AC (95 males, 64 females) in this study. The median PCT concentrations were 0.08 ng/mL (interquartile range (IQR) 0.04 - 0.18 ng/mL), 0.37 ng/mL (IQR 0.15 - 1.85 ng/mL), and 5.56 ng/mL (IQR 3.59 - 25.89 ng/mL) in patients with mild, moderate and severe AC, respectively. PCT concentrations were significantly higher in patients with severe AC than in patients with moderate AC (p < 0.0001), and in patients with moderate AC than in patients with mild AC (p < 0.0001). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for PCT to discriminate patients with moderate and severe AC were 0.84 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.92, p < 0.001) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.78 to 0.92, p < 0.001), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum PCT concentrations were elevated in patients with AC and may be a useful parameter for the severity assessment of AC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ohme Municipal General Hospital, 4-16-5 Higashiohme, Ohme-shi, Tokyo 198-0042, Japan. hamano-k@mghp.ome.tokyo.jp
authors.forename: Kosei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamano
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watabe
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Atsusi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yosioka
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hosoi
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D002761:Cholangitis / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide