PCT as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in burn patients. Whether time course has a role in monitoring sepsis treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of inflammatory markers for septic and non septic (localized) bacterial infections in patients with severe burn.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Data of 145 patients were prospectively included in this study. Serum procalcitonin and other inflammatory markers were measured within 24 h after burn and daily thereafter. Maximum procalcitonin (p=0.004) was independent predictors of outcome in logistic regression analysis. PCT thresholds of 1.5 ng/ml, 0.52 ng/ml and 0.56 ng/ml had adequate sensitivity and specificity to diagnose sepsis, respiratory tract and wound infections respectively. A threshold value of 7.8 ng/ml in PCT concentration on day 3 was associated with the effectiveness of the sepsis treatment with an AUC of 0.86 (95% CI 0.69-1.03, p=0.002). C-reactive protein levels and WBCs showed no significant change over the first 3 days in the patients with successfully treated sepsis (p=0.93).

CONCLUSION: The maximum procalcitonin level has prognostic value in burn patients. PCT can be used as a diagnostic tool in patients with infectious complications with or without bacteremia during ICU stay. Daily consecutive PCT measurements may be a valuable tool in monitoring the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy in burn ICU patients.