Objective To assess the value of procalcitonin ( PCT) in serum and percentage of infected cells ( PIC) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF) for the diagnosis of early ventilator-associatedpneumonia ( VAP) .Methods A prospective observational study was conducted in a teaching hospital. The patients consecutively admitted to the intensive care unit from January 2011 to June 2012, who received mechanical ventilation for more than 48h and clinically suspected for VAP, were recruited in the study.Patients with infection outside the lungs and previous diagnosed infection were excluded. PCT was detected and bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in the day when VAP was diagnosed. BALF cells were stained by May-Grunwald Giemsa ( MGG) for counting 100 phagocytic cells and calculating infected cells ( ICs )percentage.Results 76 of all 421 patients were enrolled in this study, 64 of which were diagnosed, 12 were under-diagnosed. The PCT [ ( 3. 48 ±1. 46) ng/mL vs. ( 1. 53 ±0. 60) ng/mL] and PIC [ ( 3. 11 ±1. 47) % vs. ( 1. 08 ±0. 29) % ] were significant higher in the patients with VAP. The threshold of 2 ng/mL of PCT and 2% of PIC corresponded to sensitivity of 78. 12% and 78. 12% , and specificity of 75. 00% and 91. 67% , respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic ( ROC) curve was 0. 87 ( 95% CI 78. 9%-95. 9% ) and 0. 874 ( 95% CI 79. 2% -94. 9% ) , respectively. The area under ROC curve was 0. 979, and the sensitivity was 97. 36% , specificity was 97. 36% when the two cutoff values were both achieved. Conclusion PCT and PIC are useful markers to diagnose early VAP quickly and conveniently and allow early antibiotic treatment of patients with suspected VAP.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) for tuberculous pleural effusion. MethodsWe electronically searched CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EMbase from inception to April, 2013, to collect the literature about the diagnostic value of PCT for tuberculous pleural effusion compared with gold standard (positive outcomes of mycobacterium tuberculosis culture). Two reviewers screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. MetaDiSc 1.4 were used to conduct the meta-analysis. ResultsEight studies were finally included. The results of meta-analysis showed the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.63 (95%CI 0.58 to 0.68) and 0.76 (95%CI 0.70 to 0.81), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 2.72 (95%CI 1.48 to 5.02) and 0.49 (95%CI 0.29 to 0.82), respectively. The diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 5.77 (95%CI 1.89 to 17.58). And the SROC AUC was 0.79. Heterogeneity was mainly derived from the QUADAS score and Begg's test showed there was no presence of publication bias. ConclusionPCT is a potential marker in the diagnosis of benign and tuberculous pleural effusion, which can be used to determine diagnosis identification of tuberculous pleural effusion.
Objective To explore the value of procalcitonin (PCT) in differential diagnosis of invasive candidiasis. Methods PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Data were searched for articles published from the dates of establishment of databases to January 2021. A prospective and retrospective cohort studies and a case-control studies of PCT in differential diagnosis of invasive candidiasis were collected. RevMan 5.3 software QUADAS-2 risk assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the literature. Meta-Disc 1.4 software was used to determine whether the original data had threshold effect and heterogeneity. Stata 14.0 software was used to analyze meta, judge publication bias and draw Deeks diagram. Results A total of 9 articles and 943 patients were included. There were 259 cases in candida group and 684 cases in control group. The study showed that the total sensitivity was 0.86 [95% confidence interval (CI) (0.80, 0.91)], specificity was 0.78 [95%CI (0.70, 0.84)], positive likelihood ratio was 3.92 [95%CI (2.77, 5.55)], negative likelihood ratio was 0.18 [95%CI (0.12, 0.27)], the area under receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.90 [95%CI (0.87, 0.92)], diagnostic odds ratio was 19.75 [95%CI (10.71, 36.43)]. The results of heterogeneity test showed that there was heterogeneity caused by non-threshold effect between studies. The results of subgroup analysis showed that the heterogeneity I2 value of PCT<2 ng/mL subgroup decreased significantly, and the result was more stable, with sensitivity. The results show that sensitivity was 0.86 [95%CI (0.79, 0.91)], specificity was 0.72 [95%CI (0.63, 0.80)], the area under receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.87 [95%CI (0.83, 0.89)]. Conclusions Serum PCT in the differential diagnosis of invasive candidiasis has certain accuracy and negative predictive value. However, PCT is only an auxiliary test. The differential diagnosis of invasive candidiasis should be combined with clinical features and other diagnostic indexes.
Objective To explore the predictive value of serum procalcitonin (PCT), D-dimer (D-D) and decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) for prognosis of patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and respiratory failure undergoing non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Methods A total of 95 patients with AECOPD and respiratory failure undergoing basic treatment and NIV in the hospital were retrospectively enrolled between September (n=65) 2017 and February 2021. According to prognosis after treatment, they were divided into a good prognosis group and a poor prognosis group (n=30). The general data of all patients were collected. The influencing factors of prognosis were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression model. The levels of DcR3, PCT and D-D were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, colloidal gold colorimetry and immunoturbidimetry. The patients condition was assessed by scores of acute physiology chronic health evaluation scoring system Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ). The partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) were recorded. And the above indexes between the two groups were compared. The relationship between DcR3, PCT, D-D and APACHEⅡ score, PaO2, PaCO2 was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. The prognostic value of DcR3, PCT and D-D was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results There was no significant difference in gender, GOLD grading or underlying diseases between the poor prognosis group and the good prognosis group (P>0.05), but there were significant differences in age, DcR3, PCT, D-D, APACHEⅡ score, PaO2 and PaCO2 after treatment (P<0.05). DcR3, PCT, D-D, APACHEⅡ score and PaCO2 in the poor prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group, while PaO2 was lower than that in the good prognosis group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that DcR3 ≥5.50 ng/mL (OR=21.889), PCT ≥ 5.00 μg/L (OR=3.782), D-D ≥3.00 μg/L (OR=4.162) and APACHEⅡ score ≥20 points (OR=2.540) were all influencing factors of prognosis (P<0.05). The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that DcR3, PCT and D-D were positively correlated with APACHEⅡ score and PaCO2, while negatively correlated with PaO2 (P<0.05). The results of ROC curve analysis showed that area under ROC curve of DcR3, PCT and D-D for predicting the prognosis were 0.745 (95%CI 0.631 - 0.859), 0.691 (95%CI 0.579 - 0.803) and 0.796 (95%CI 0.696 - 0.895), respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion The serum DcR3, PCT and D-D levels are related to disease progression in patients with AECOPD and respiratory failure after NIV, which have good predictive efficiency for prognosis and can be applied as important biological indexes to evaluate prognosis and guide treatment.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy of antibiotic treatment in sepsis patients under the guidance of procalcitonin. MethodsDatabases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library (Issue 9, 2016), EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, WanFang Data, VIP and CNKI were electronically searched from inception to September 2016 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about antibiotic treatment in sepsis under the guidance of procalcitonin. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk bias of included studies, and then meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 15 RCTs involving 3 328 sepsis patients were included. Among them, 1 649 were in the procalcitionin group and 1 679 patients in the control group. The results of meta-analysis showed that:the PCT group could significantly reduce the using time of antibiotics (MD=-2.37, 95%CI -2.96 to -1.78, P<0.000 01), the ICU length of stay (MD=-0.26, 95%CI -0.46 to -0.07, P=0.007), the hospital length of stay (MD=-2.78, 95%CI -4.53 to -1.04, P=0.002), as well as the 28-day mortality (MD=0.78, 95%CI 0.66 to 0.93, P=0.005). There were no significant differences between the two groups in ICU mortality, in-hospital mortality and clinical cure rate. ConclusionUsing the procalcitontin to guide the antibiotic treatment in sepsis can reduce the patients' use of antibiotics, ICU length of stay, in-hospital length of stay and 28-day mortality, but can not reduce the patients' ICU mortality, in-hospital mortality and clinical cure rate. Due to the limited quality and quantity of included studies, the current conclusions are needed more studies to validate.
Objective To investigate the significance of sensory neuropeptides [calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP)] in steroid-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) by using a rabbit model. Methods Fifty-five adult female Japanese White rabbits (weighing 3 kg and aging 24 months) were randomly divided into experimental group (n=45) and control group (n=10). The rabbits in experimental group received a single intramuscularinjection of methylprednisolone at a dose of 4 mg/kg and then were sacrificed after 3 days (n=15), 1 week (n=15), and 2 weeks (n=15) of injection. The rabbits in control group were fed without any treatment. The necrosis of the femoral head was observed. And the expressions of the monoclonal antibodies CGRP and SP were observed with immunohistochemical staining. Also, the integrated absorbance (IA) value of the positive area was calculated. Results All rabbits survived to the end of the experiment. There was no necrosis of the bone or bone marrow in experimental group at 3 days; whereas ANFH was observed in 5 rabbits at 1 week (33%) and in 8 rabbits at 2 weeks (53%). There were significant differences in the rate of ANFH between 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 days (P lt; 0.05); but there was no significant difference between 1 week and 2 weeks (P gt; 0.05). The intensity of CGRP immunoreactivity increased and reached the peak at 1 week, and then decreased at 2 weeks in experimental group. The IA value of CGRP in experimental group at 1 week was significantly higher than that of control group and that of experimental group at 3 days (P lt; 0.05). The IA value of CGRP in experimental group at 2 weeks was significantly lower than those at 3 days and 1 week (P lt; 0.05). The intensity of SP immunoreactivity decreased and reached the lowest at 1 week, and then increased. The IA value of SP in experimental group at 1 week was significantly lower than that of control group and that of experimental group at 2 weeks (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion The sensory neuropeptides may be affected by the steroid, which may play a key role in the process of steroid-induced ANFH by imbalance of bone metabol ism, disturbance of the microcirculation of bone, and disorder of the protective pain-transmission.
ObjectiveTo explore the natural changes of procalcitonin (PCT) in the early period after pediatric cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).MethodsA prospective and observational study was done on patients below 3 years of age, who underwent cardiac surgery involving CPB, with the risk adjustment of congenital heart surgery (RACHS) score of 2 to 5 and free from active preoperative infection or inflammatory disease. Blood samples for measurement of PCT, C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) were taken before surgery and daily for 7 days in postoperative period. Infections and complications within 7 days after operation were investigated. According to the presence or absence of infection and complications within 7 days after operation, the enrolled children were divided into an infection+complications group, a simple infection group, a simple complication group, and a normal group.Results Finally, 429 children with PICU stay≥ 4 days were enrolled, including 268 males and 161 females, with a median age of 8.0 (0.7, 26.0) months. There were 145 children in the simple infection group, 38 children in the simple complication group, 230 children in the normal group and 16 children in the infection+complications group. The levels of PCT, CRP and WBC were significantly higher after CPB. CRP and WBC peaked on the second postoperative day (POD) and remained higher than normal until POD7. PCT peaked on POD1 and would generally decrease to normal on POD5 if without infection and complications. Age, body weight, RACHS scores, the duration of CPB and aortic cross-clamping time were correlated with PCT level. There was a statistical difference in PCT concentration between the simple infection group and the normal group on POD 3-7 (P<0.01) and a statistical difference between the simple complication group and the normal group on POD 1-7 (P<0.01). A statistical difference was found between the simple infection group and the simple complication group in PCT on POD 1-5 (P<0.05).ConclusionWBC, CRP and PCT significantly increase after CPB in pediatric cardiac surgery patients. The factors influencing PCT concentration include age, weight, RACHS scores, CPB and aortic cross-clamping time, infection and complications.
ObjectiveTo investigate the level of serum long non-coding RNA antisense non-coding RNA INK4 locus (LncRNA ANRIL) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and to analyze the diagnostic value of serum LncRNA ANRIL level in UC. MethodsA total of 143 UC patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from February 2015 to November 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, and 145 healthy people with normal physical examination in the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology were selected as the control group. The relationship between serum LncRNA ANRIL level and PCT/IL-17 level was analyzed, the serum levels of LncRNA ANRIL, PCT, and IL-17 were compared between the two groups, and their diagnostic value for UC was explored.ResultsThe disease degree of 143 UC patients: 41 cases were mild, 59 cases were moderate, and 43 cases were severe; endoscopic grade: 38 cases were grade Ⅰ, 65 cases were grade Ⅱ, and 40 cases were grade Ⅲ. Compared with the control group, the serum levels of LncRNA ANRIL, PCT, and IL-17 were increased in the UC group (P<0.05); the levels of serum LncRNA ANRIL, PCT, and IL-17 in the UC group increased gradually with the increase of disease severity and endoscopic grade (P<0.05). The serum levels of LncRNA ANRIL were positively correlated with the levels of PCT and IL-17 in the UC patients (r=0.596, P<0.001; r=0.492, P<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) of serum LncRNA ANRIL level in the diagnosis of UC was 0.851, the cut-off value was 1.29, the sensitivity and specificity were 75.5% and 83.4%, respectively. The AUC of serum LncRNA ANRIL combined with PCT in the diagnosis of UC was 0.898, the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 81.8% and 87.6%, respectively. The sensitivity and diagnostic value of combination of LncRNA ANRIL and PCT were higher than that of serum LncRNA ANRIL alone (Z=2.102, P=0.036). ConclusionsThe serum level of LncRNA ANRIL in UC patients is increased, which has a certain diagnostic value, and it combines with PCT can better predict UC.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical value of procalcitonin (PCT) in the prediction of early stage of acute pancreatitis, the evaluation of therapeutic effect, the evaluation of prognosis, and the use of antibiotics.MethodWe reviewed the related literatures about hematology indexes of severe acute pancreatitis and pancreatic infection and necrosis at home and abroad in recent years.ResultsPCT had high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of severe acute pancreatitis and pancreatic infection and necrosis, and could be used as a tool to guide the early clinical treatment of severe acute pancreatitis. In the course of treatment, with the improvement of the condition, the value of PCT decreased. Monitoring the change of PCT value could evaluate the therapeutic effect of severe acute pancreatitis. Monitoring PCT during treatment could also guide the use of antibiotics.ConclusionPCT can be used as an early indicator for predicting severe acute pancreatitis and necrosis of pancreatic infection, as well as an indicator for guiding antibiotic treatment.