Archives of disease in childhood
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To assess the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of procalcitonin (PCT) in differentiating bacterial and viral causes of pneumonia. ⋯ PCT concentration, with a threshold of 1 microg/l is more sensitive and specific and has greater positive and negative predictive values than CRP, IL-6, or white blood cell count for differentiating bacterial and viral causes of community pneumonia in untreated children admitted to hospital as emergency cases.