title: [Usefulness of procalcitonin for diagnosing infection in critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) for diagnosing infection in patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to an Intensive Care Unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was carried out.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intensive Care Unit. Versatile, twenty-four beds. Participants Patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to our Intensive Care Unit in the last four years with suspected infection and measurement of PCT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 255 patients with cirrhosis admitted to our unit, PCT was determined for the differential diagnosis of infection in 69 cases (27%). Three patients were excluded from analysis due to a lack of clinical data. The average stay was 10.6 ± 9.2 days, with a mortality rate of 65%. The origin of cirrhosis was mainly viral (57%) or alcoholic (37%). The Child-Pugh and MELD scores were 9.5 ± 2 and 23 ± 8, respectively. Infection was diagnosed in 54 patients (82%). The most common infection was pneumonia (72%), followed by intraabdominal infections (18%) and bacteremia (5%). In patients without infection, the median PCT concentration was 0.57 ng/ml (range 0.28 to 1.14) versus 2.99 (1.31 to 9.4) in those with infection (p<.001). Diagnostic capacity was maintained in patients with intraabdominal infections. The diagnostic cutoff point was set at 0.8 ng/ml (sensitivity 83%, specificity 75%, AUC 0.82 [0.702-0.93]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with liver cirrhosis, PCT is useful for identifying bacterial infections, including intraabdominal processes.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Villarreal
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vacacela
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calabuig
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kot
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Babiloni
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España. Electronic address: ramirez_pau@gva.es.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramírez
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D016638:Critical Illness; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D002116:Calcitonin
keywords: Cirrosis hepática; Infección; Infection; Liver cirrhosis; Peritonitis; Procalcitonin; Procalcitonina