title: Neutrophil CD64 expression as an important diagnostic marker of infection and sepsis in hospital patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infection and sepsis are major health problems. Therefore, the need for improved diagnostic indicators, as well as for better therapeutic monitors in the treatment of infection, remains, since the current diagnostic tools have low specificity and passed through minimal changes in the last two decades.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to establish the correlation of neutrophil CD64 with indicators of infection and sepsis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We established the correlation of the neutrophil CD64 expression with the following variables: complete white blood count, band count, neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CRP), cultures, flags released by automated hematology analyzers and clinical groups. Accordingly clinical groups were divided into two: patients "without clinical or laboratory evidence of infection or inflammatory process" and "clinical or laboratory evidence of a systemic inflammatory response (SIRS) and systemic sepsis" based upon identification of organisms by culture. We analyzed 93 whole blood samples anticoagulated with K3EDTA of patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a community hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The expression CD64 was statistically significant with clinical groups, flags, and neutrophils and was not significantly correlated with total count of white blood cells and cultures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that high expression of CD64 is an indicator important in the diagnosis of infection and sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Hematology, Hospital de Clınicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: mg.farias@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Mariela Granero
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Farias
authors.affiliation: Specialization in Clinical Analysis, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Natália Pieruccini
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: de Lucena
authors.affiliation: Unit of Hematology, Hospital de Clınicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Suzane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dal Bó
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone Martins
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: de Castro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000276:immunology*; D018805:Sepsis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C489017:FCGR1A protein, human; D017452:Receptors, IgG; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: CD64; Diagnosis; Flow cytometry; Infection