Clinical Significance of Procalcitonin Detection in Early Diagnosis of Sepsis in Children

[Objective]In order to further improve the early diagnosis rate of sepsis in children,to study a rapid and reliable method. [Methods]124 children with sepsis in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were divided into the observation group(56 cases) and the control group(68 cases).The procalcitonin(PCT) levels of two groups were detected,and were compared with levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) and white blood cell count(WBC count). [Results]There was no significant difference between PCT results and blood culture results(χ2=2.77,P0.05).According to the critical value of PCT≥2 ng/ml and hs-CRP≥10 mg/L,the positive rate of PCT and hs-CRP of the observation group was higher than that of the control group significantly(P0.01).There was no significant difference in WBC count between two groups(χ2=3.56,P0.05).The sensitivity,specificity,positive predict value,negative predict value,accuracy and Youden index of PCT in the diagnosis of sepsis were significantly better than those of WBC count.The specificity of PCT was higher than that of hs-CRP. [Conclusion]PCT is a laboratory index which is helpful for diagnosing the sepsis in children early,judging disease,evaluating therapeutic effect and estimating prognosis.