Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine

Register      Login

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue

Online First

Archive
Volume  25 (2021)
Volume  24 (2020)
Volume  23 (2019)
Volume  22 (2018)
Volume  21 (2017)
Volume  20 (2016)
Volume  19 (2015)
Volume  18 (2014)
Volume  17 (2013)
Volume  16 (2012)
Volume  15 (2011)
Volume  14 (2010)
Volume  13 (2009)
Volume  12 (2008)
Volume  11 (2007)
Volume  10 (2006)
Volume  9 (2005)
Volume  8 (2004)
Related articles

VOLUME 19 , ISSUE 8 ( 2015 ) > List of Articles

BRIEF COMMUNICATION

Procalcitonin levels in salmonella infection

Vikas Mishra, Jehangir Sorabjee

Keywords : enteric fever, procalcitonin, Salmonella, sepsis, typhoid,Bacteremia

Citation Information : Mishra V, Sorabjee J. Procalcitonin levels in salmonella infection. Indian J Crit Care Med 2015; 19 (8):471-473.

DOI: 10.4103/0972-5229.162466

License: CC BY-ND 3.0

Published Online: 00-08-2015

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2015; Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.


Abstract

Aim: Procalcitonin (PCT) as a diagnostic marker for bacteremia and sepsis has been extensively studied. We aimed to study PCT levels in Salmonella infections whether they would serve as marker for early diagnosis in endemic areas to start empiric treatment while awaiting blood culture report. Materials and Methods: BACTEC blood culture was used to isolate Salmonella in suspected enteric fever patients. Serum PCT levels were estimated before starting treatment. Results: In 60 proven enteric fever patients, median value of serum PCT levels was 0.22 ng/ml, values ranging between 0.05 and 4 ng/ml. 95% of patients had near normal or mild increase (<0.5 ng/ml), only 5% of patients showed elevated levels. Notably, high PCT levels were found only in severe sepsis. Conclusion: PCT levels in Salmonella infections are near normal or minimally increased which differentiates it from other systemic Gram-negative infections. PCT cannot be used as a specific diagnostic marker of typhoid.

PDF Share
  1. Ferrière F. Procalcitonin, a new marker for bacterial infections. Ann Biol Clin (Paris) 2000;58:49-59.
  2. Chalupa P, Beran O, Herwald H, Kaspríková N, Holub M. Evaluation of potential biomarkers for the discrimination of bacterial and viral infections. Infection 2011;39:411-7.
  3. Jones AE, Fiechtl JF, Brown MD, Ballew JJ, Kline JA. Procalcitonin test in the diagnosis of bacteremia: A meta-analysis. Ann Emerg Med 2007;50:34-41.
  4. Brodská H, Malícková K, Adámková V, Benáková H, Štastná MM, Zima T. Significantly higher procalcitonin levels could differentiate Gram-negative sepsis from Gram-positive and fungal sepsis. Clin Exp Med 2013;13:165-70.
  5. Leli C, Ferranti M, Moretti A, Al Dhahab ZS, Cenci E, Mencacci A. Procalcitonin levels in gram-positive, gram-negative, and fungal bloodstream infections. Dis Markers 2015;2015:701480.
  6. Nelson GE, Mave V, Gupta A. Biomarkers for sepsis: A review with special attention to India. Biomed Res Int 2015;2114:264-351
  7. Sudhir U, Venkatachalaiah RK, Kumar TA, Rao MY, Kempegowda P. Significance of serum procalcitonin in sepsis. Indian J Crit Care Med 2011;15:1-5.
  8. de Jong HK, Parry CM, van der Poll T, Wiersinga WJ. Host-pathogen interaction in invasive salmonellosis. PLoS Pathog 2012;8:e1002933.
  9. Poddar B, Gurjar M, Singh S, Aggarwal A, Singh R, Azim A, et al. Procalcitonin kinetics as a prognostic marker in severe sepsis/septic shock. Indian J Crit Care Med 2015;19:140-6.
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.