• Muddassir Muhammad Shaikh, Lucas Etienne Hermans, and Jacob M van Laar.
• Department of Rheumatology, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK and Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands doctormshaikh@gmail.com.
• Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015 Feb 1; 54 (2): 231-40.

AbstractEarly differentiation between infection and aseptic inflammation is difficult and is a challenge often faced in the rheumatology practice. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker that is preferentially induced in patients with bacterial infections, and a growing body of evidence supports its use for improving diagnosis of bacterial infections and guiding antibiotic therapy. In this article, we review the evidence for the use of PCT measurement in rheumatology practice. Several studies have examined the use of PCT to assist in the differentiation between septic and non-septic arthritis in patients with an inflamed joint and found it to be a sensitive and specific marker of infection. A number of studies in patients with diverse inflammatory rheumatic diseases have provided useful information regarding the usefulness of PCT in these patients. In summary, PCT when used in the appropriate clinical setting can be a useful adjunct to currently available laboratory infection markers, though further studies are warranted. Furthermore, PCT results should be interpreted in parallel with the clinical assessment.© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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