• Ricardo A Bianchi, Ana S Haedo, and María C Romero.
• Servicio de Cirugía General, Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Cosme Argerich, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Cir Esp. 2006 Jun 1; 79 (6): 356-60.

BackgroundProcalcitonin (PCT) is widely accepted as an early marker of the severity of sepsis and its prognosis. This study was designed to evaluate the utility of PCT in the early diagnosis of immediate postoperative complications (infectious and non-infectious) following cephalic pancreatoduodenectomy (PD).Patients And MethodThirty-one patients who underwent elective PD were prospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of postoperative complications. Plasma PCT concentrations were determined by an immunochromatographic method. The correlation between PCT concentrations and the presence of complications, as well as the existence of statistically significant differences in PCT concentrations between the 2 groups of patients, were analyzed. The value of plasma PCT concentrations in predicting complications compared with that of other biochemical variables (C-reactive protein, lactic acid, base excess) and clinical parameters (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) was analyzed.ResultsSignificant differences in PCT concentrations were found between the two groups. An inverse correlation between marker levels and patient outcome was observed. The variables that best predicted the development of complications were PCT concentrations and axillary temperature.ConclusionsPlasma PCT should be taken into account as a useful marker for postoperative clinical course in the follow-up of PD and for the early detection of non-infectious complications.

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