title: Serum Procalcitonin Level and Mortality Risk in Critically ill Patients with Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prognostic role of serum procalcitonin level in critically ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia was unclear. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between serum procalcitonin level and mortality risk in critically ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of critically ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia were retrospectively collected. Demographics, comorbidities, and serum procalcitonin level were extracted from electronic medical records. The primary outcome was mortality within two months after diagnosis. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the prognostic role of serum procalcitonin level in those patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 115 critically ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia were enrolled in our study. Serum procalcitonin level was not associated with age, gender, or other comorbidities. Univariate Cox regression model showed that high serum procalcitonin level was associated increased risk of morality within 2 months after diagnosis (OR = 2.32, 95% CI 1.25-4.31, P = 0.008). Multivariable Cox regression model showed that high serum procalcitonin level was independently associated increased risk of morality within 2 months after diagnosis (OR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.26-4.50, P = 0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High serum procalcitonin level is an independent prognostic biomarker of mortality risk in critically ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, and it's a promising biomarker of prognosis in critically ill patients.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Shumei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000097:blood*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016638:Critical Illness; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide