The Brazilian journal of infectious diseases : an official publication of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of procalcitonin and neopterin level in serum of patients with acute bacterial infection.
Fever as a common presenting complaint in pediatric patients can be due to various causes. Differentiating bacterial infection from other causes is important because the prompt use of antibiotics is critical in bacterial infection. Traditional markers of infection such as BT and WBC count may be unspecific and culture may be late or absent. CRP and Procalcitonin (PCT) have been considered to evaluate the evolution of infections and sepsis in patients presenting with SIRS. Neopterin has also been proposed to aid in the diagnosis of bacterial infection. In this study, we compared the value of the serum PCT, neopterin level, and WBC count for predicting bacterial infection and outcome in children with fever. ⋯ Rapid PCT test is superior to neopterin and WBC count for anticipating bacterial infection, especially in ED where prompt decision making is critical.
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The objective of this study was to estimate disease incidence and mortality rate of sepsis in a tertiary public hospital. ⋯ The data from our study revealed a high incidence of sepsis among hospitalized patients. Moreover, sepsis patients had a high rate of mortality.