Procalcitonin levels as a predictor of clinical outcome in sepsis

Background: Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening condition resulting from an inappropriate response of the body to any infection. Procalcitonin has been found to be a good marker for the diagnosis of sepsis. However, there are limited studies on the relationship between increased procalcitonin levels and the clinical outcome. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the serum procalcitonin levels in septic patients and its association with mortality. Methods: This prospective, observational study was conducted from December 2017 to May 2019 and included 75 septic patients aged >18 years. Detailed history, physical, clinical and laboratory (procalcitonin) examination were performed for all the patients, and the clinical outcome was measured by calculating the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II severity score. Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. Results: Distribution of procalcitonin levels between the survival or non-survival patients was found to be insignificant (P=0.09545). However, the difference in APACHE II scores between the survivors and non-survivors was observed to be statistically significant (P=0.0001007). Moreover, the area under the ROC curve for serum procalcitonin and APACHE II score was found to be 87.31% and 76.97%, respectively. Conclusion: The present study found that the serum procalcitonin levels were elevated in septic patients, thus establishing its involvement in the prognosis of sepsis. Increased procalcitonin levels were also found to be associated with the increase in the APACHE II severity score. Therefore, both procalcitonin levels and APACHE II severity score can be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of sepsis.