title: Utility of procalcitonin as a biomarker for rejection and differentiation of infectious complications in lung transplant recipients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the utility of procalcitonin (PCT) as a biomarker for rejection and differentiation of infectious complications in lung transplant recipients.
  
  
  METHODS
  An English-language literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (1966-September 2013) using the terms procalcitonin, transplantation, and lung transplantation. Additional articles were identified through a manual search of reference lists of the articles obtained.
  
  
  METHODS
  All articles evaluating PCT use in lung transplant recipients, including those where lung transplant patients were a subgroup of immunocompromised patients, were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infection and rejection are leading causes of mortality in lung transplant recipients, with similar clinical presentations; PCT could be a valuable biomarker to differentiate between these complications. Five prospective and 2 retrospective single-center observational evaluations were reviewed. Study populations were diverse, with only 3 focused solely on lung transplant recipients. PCT levels were not elevated during episodes of rejection and viral infections, whereas elevations were seen with bacterial infections. The effect of colonization or fungal infection on PCT varied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current data suggest that PCT can be used to differentiate bacterial infections from rejection in lung transplant recipients, with unclear utility in colonization or fungal infection. It is reasonable to conclude that PCT values more than 8.18 ng/mL and PCT area under receiver operating curve greater than 0.97 indicate bacterial infection in this population, and PCT trends may increase predictive value. Because of the lack of randomized controlled trials, PCT should only be utilized in conjunction with standard tests for infection and rejection diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Chelsea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sammons
authors.forename: Christina T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Doligalski
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D009181:Mycoses / Q000097:blood*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide
keywords: clinical biomarker; infection; lung transplantation; procalcitonin; rejection