Clinical value of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein test in liver cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Objective To investigate the clinical value of serum and ascitic procalcitonin(PTC) and C-reactive protein level in diagnosing liver cirrhosis with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis(SBP).Methods Seventy-three patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites were selected,39 of them were simple ascites,others liver cirrhosis with SBP.Serum PCT,ascitic PTC and serum CRP of all these patients were checked.Results Serum CRP of liver cirrhotic patients with SBP was(76.00±60.75) mg/L,while that of the patients with simple ascites was(16.00±43.00) mg/L.The level of PCT was significantly different between two groups at a cut of level of PCT ≥2 μg/L(serum PCT was 79.4% vs 10.3%,ascitic PTC was 29.4% vs 5.1%,P0.01).Serum and ascitic PTC level went down when the patients with SBP improved(16.7% vs 3.3%,P0.01).Checking serum PCT,CRP and ascitic PTC at the same time can help increase the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy in diagnosing liver cirrhosis with SBP.Conclusion Checking serum PCT,CRP and ascitic PCT have clinical significance on the initial diagnosis of liver cirrhosis with SBP.