The value of serum procalcitonin in the diagnosis and assessment of community-acquired pneumonia

Objective To evaluatethe clinical value of procalcitonin(PCT)in the diagnosis and assessment of community-acquired pneumonia(CAP).Methods Ninety-six patients with CAP(CAP group)who hospitahzed during the period of November 2005 to August 2006 were admitted.Meanwhile,30 people were taken as control group.The levels of PCT,CRP and WBC were detected on the next day and the 8th day of hospitalization.Results(1)The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was made through setting the threshold value of PCT,CRP and WBC as 1.5 μg/L,10 md/L and 10×109/L respectively in AP group and control group.The RFea undering ROC curve was 0.979.0.831 and 0.736 respectively.(2) The mean value of PCT in the patients of bacterial pneumonia.atypical pathogen pneumonia and viral pneumonia was(9.74±6.20),(7.81±5.70)and(12.20±6.50)μg/L respectively.There were no statistical differences in those patients.(3)There was correlation between PCT and CURB-65 score(r=0.258.P=0.011).The value of serum PCT showed significant differences in the patients with mild pneumonia.moderate pneumonia and severe pneumonia. Conclusions Serum PCT has higher sensitivity and specificity than CRP and WBC in the diagnosis of CAP.There is correlation between PCT and the severity of CAP,so it indicates that PCT has a certain practical value in the iudgement of the condition of CAP. Key words: Pneumonia;  Community-acquired infections; Procalcitonin;  CURB-65 score