Clin Lab
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Comparative Study
Clinical usefulness of the semiquantitative procalcitonin test in the diagnosis of bacterial infections in a third level children's hospital.
The differential diagnosis between viral and bacterial infections can be challenging in children. Procalcitonin (PCT) has been investigated as an early marker for bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) compared to C-reactive protein (CRP), white cell blood count (WBC), and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) for differentiating bacterial from viral infections in a third level pediatric hospital. ⋯ The PCT semiquantitative test is not sufficiently sensitive to be used alone as a marker of bacterial infection.
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Rapid and reliable exclusion of acute myocardial infarction during emergency department triage is an important clinical need. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential role of copeptin, a marker of acute endogenous stress, together with high sensitive troponin-I for a rapid and early rule-out of acute myocardial infarction. ⋯ Copeptin concentrations are more sensitive than myoglobin as an early marker of myocardial damage. Although copeptin provides significant incremental value on top of high sensitivity troponin-I, myoglobin does not.