• Hyun Soo Kim, Hyeong Tae Yang, Jun Hur, Wook Chun, Young-Su Ju, Seon-Hee Shin, Hee Jung Kang, and Kyu Man Lee.
• Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Korea. hskim0901@empal.com
• Ann. Clin. Lab. Sci. 2012 Jan 1;42(1):57-64.

PurposeThis study was performed to evaluate the clinical significance of procalcitonin in burn patients and to investigate whether procalcitonin levels at admission can be a prognostic indicator for sepsis and mortality.Materials And MethodsBetween January 2009 and December 2010, procalcitonin levels in 175 patients were tested within the first 48 hours after burn injury. Serum procalcitonin was measured using an enzyme-linked fluorescence assay. Mortality rates and positive culture rates of blood, wound, and sputum were evaluated among the subgroups divided by burn size, procalcitonin levels, and clinical prognosis.ResultsPositive blood culture and mortality rates correlated significantly with procalcitonin concentrations within the first 48 hours after burn injury. The area under the ROC curve for procalcitonin related to mortality was 0.844. Survival analysis revealed that the mortality rate was significantly higher in patients with procalcitonin concentrations ≥ 2 ng/mL than in patients with procalcitonin concentrations < 2 ng/mL (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that procalcitonin was an independent prognostic factor for burn patients (Hazard ratio = 3.16, P = 0.001).ConclusionsProcalcitonin concentrations determined within the first 48 hours after burn injury can be a useful prognostic indicator for sepsis and mortality in burn patients.

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