The diagnostic value of serum amyloid A for early infection in the intensive care unit

Objective To assess the diagnostic value of serum amyloid A(SAA) for early infection in the intensive care unit(ICU).Methods Patients who stayed in ICU for more than 2 days were enrolled from June,2013 to December,2013.SAA and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs CRP) were examined in all patients.Patients were divided into two groups(normal group and infected group) based on the result of sputum culture(deep sterile suction).The results of SAA and hs CRP were compared between the two groups.Results 381 patients were enrolled,including 106 patients with bacterial infection and 275 patients without infection.The mean levels of SAA were 5.00 mg / L(95%CI 5.00-5.00 mg / L) and 105.12 mg / L(95%CI 48.89-212.47 mg / L) in the normal group and the infection group respectively; The mean levels of hs CRP were 9.13 mg / L(95%CI3.87-14.47 mg / L) and 28.15 mg / L(95%CI 16.81-39.63 mg / L) in the normal group and the infection group respectively.There are significant differences between the normal group and the infected group in SAA and hs CRP(P 0.001).Conclusion The combined detection of SAA and hs CRP is sensitive to early bacterial infection in ICU.They are valuable to the diagnosis of early bacterial infection.