Procalcitonin | Healthmatters.io (2024)

FAQs

What is considered a positive procalcitonin? ›

In general, in patients with a lower probability of bacterial infection as is seen in primary care and ED, the following cut-offs are used; antibiotics are discouraged if PCT is <0.1 μg/L (bacterial infection very unlikely) or 0.1 – 0.25 μg/L (bacterial infection unlikely) and encouraged if PCT is >0.25–0.5 μg/L ( ...

Procalcitonin arises from endopeptidase-cleaved preprocalcitonin. The reference value for procalcitonin in adults is less than 0.1 ng/mL. Levels greater than 0.25 ng/mL can indicate the presence of an infection.

0.1 – 0.5 ng/mL - Low likelihood for sepsis; Antibiotics discouraged. > 0.5 ng/mL – Increased likelihood sepsis; Antibiotics encouraged. > 2.0 ng/mL – High risk of sepsis/septic shock; Antibiotics strongly encouraged. Decisions on antibiotic use should not be based solely on procalcitonin levels.

Low levels of procalcitonin in a seriously ill person may indicate a low risk of developing sepsis and progression to severe sepsis and/or septic shock but do not exclude it. Low levels may indicate that the person's symptoms are due to a cause other than a bacterial infection, such as a viral infection.

Usually, high PCT levels are found in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. The elevated as well as highly elevated level of PCT (>2 ng/mL or >10 ng/mL, respectively) is a sign of alarm indicating a high risk of organ dysfunction due to systemic inflammation and calls for immediate treatment of the patient.

Optimal cutoffs for detecting invasive bacterial infections were 0·49 ng/mL for procalcitonin and 13·12 mg/L for C-reactive protein.

Among patients presenting to the hospital who received blood cultures and a procalcitonin test, we found that the sensitivity of procalcitonin at a commonly used cutoff of 0.5 ng/mL to detect a BSI was low at 68%, indicating that procalcitonin is a weak rule-out test for BSI at admission.

PCT is normally less than 0.05 ng/ml (equivalent to less than 0.05 ug/L) in healthy individuals. note however that normal levels do not exclude infection. All results should be interpreted in the context of the patient's clinical history.

Based on the findings of this review, serum levels of PCT were reported within the range of at least 5 to more than 16 ng/ml in patients admitted to ICU. The mortality rate was estimated at 5.7% to 79% in these patients. Moreover, the incidence of sepsis was reported from 13% to 77.6%.

* Recheck PCT level every 2-3 days to consider early cessation of antibiotics using the above breakpoints or, if initial values >5-10 ng/mL, when a 90% reduction is seen from peak values.

What lab values indicate sepsis? ›

Normal serum values are below 0.05 ng/mL, and a value of 2.0 ng/mL suggests a significantly increased risk of sepsis and/or septic shock. Values <0.5 ng/mL represent a low risk while values of 0.5 - 2.0 ng/mL suggest an intermediate likelihood of sepsis and/or septic shock.

Reference Range: PCT< 0.05 UG/L for normal persons. Interpretation: If PCT<0.5 UG/L then, systemic infection (sepsis) is not likely. There is a possibility of local bacterial infection.

Although the results of a procalcitonin test should be interpreted by a doctor, they are generally described as follows:3. Normal: 0 to 0.05 micrograms per liter (µg/L) Low risk of sepsis: less than 0.5 µg/L. Possible sepsis: between 0.5 µg/L and 2 µg/L. Moderate to high risk of sepsis: between 2 µg/L and 10 µg/L.

The normal values for prolactin are: Men: less than 20 ng/mL (425 µg/L) Nonpregnant women: less than 25 ng/mL (25 µg/L) Pregnant women: 80 to 400 ng/mL (80 to 400 µg/L)

PCT is normally less than 0.05 ng/ml (equivalent to less than 0.05 ug/L) in healthy individuals. note however that normal levels do not exclude infection. All results should be interpreted in the context of the patient's clinical history.

A serum PCT level of <0.4 ng/mL accurately rules out the diagnosis of bacteremia. The use of PCT assessment could help physicians limit the number of blood cultures to be processed and the number of antibiotic prescriptions.