- Newborns (<48-72 hours; after 72 interpret levels as usual)
- Massive stress (severe trauma, surgery, cardiac shock, burns)
- Treatment with agents which stimulate cytokines (OKT3, anti-lymphocyte globulins, alemtuzumab, IL-2, granulocyte transfusion)
What can elevate procalcitonin?
Severe trauma, major burns, multiorgan failure, or major surgery can cause procalcitonin (ProCT) elevations in the absence of sepsis.
What level of procalcitonin indicates infection?
The reference value for procalcitonin in adults is less than 0.1 ng/mL. Levels greater than 0.25 ng/mL can indicate the presence of an infection.22 Oct 2021
What can falsely elevate procalcitonin?
Procalcitonin may not rise in contained localized infections such as tonsillitis, sinusitis, cystitis, uncomplicated skin/soft tissue infections, abscesses, or empyemas [134,135]. False negatives can also occur if procalcitonin is drawn too early in the course of infection [31].25 Oct 2021
What causes false positive procalcitonin?
Noninfectious causes of systemic inflammation, such as shock, trauma, surgery, burn injury, and chronic kidney disease can also induce procalcitonin production but are less closely correlated with procalcitonin induction than bacterial infection [39,49].25 Oct 2021
Is procalcitonin really a marker of sepsis?
Serum concentration of calcitonin precursor, CRP, IL-6 and lactate were elevated according to the severity of illness. Based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, they concluded that PCT is the most reliable marker for the diagnosis of sepsis, with 89% of sensitivity and 94% of specificity [29].3 Aug 2017
What is a high level of procalcitonin?
If your results show a high procalcitonin level, it's likely you have a serious bacterial infection such as sepsis or meningitis. The higher the level, the more severe your infection may be. If you are being treated for an infection, decreasing or low procalcitonin levels can show that your treatment is working.30 Nov 2020
How does procalcitonin indicate sepsis?
Microbial infection induces the elevated expression of CALC 1 gene followed by the release of PCT product which is correlated with severity of disease and mortality. The PCT as a biomarker proved successfully its clinical usefulness in determining the presence of sepsis.3 Aug 2017