PROCALCITONIN AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN SERUM LEVELS AS MARKERS OF INFECTION IN A PEDIATRIC POPULATION WITH FEBRILE NEUTROPENIA AND CANCER

Abstract

Background: Procalcitonin and C-reactive-protein are inflammatory markers for sepsis. The authors evaluated their sensitivity and specificity in pediatric patients with cancer and febrile neutropenia. Procedure: Serum procalcitonin and C-reactive-protein were evaluated. Patients (n = 54) were divided into 2 groups, with severe infection (n = 18) or without documented infection (n = 36). Results: Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein were significantly higher in the high-risk group. Procalcitonin displayed 72.2% sensitivity and 80.5% specificity. C-reactive-protein had a sensitivity of 77.7% and specificity of 77.2%. Conclusions: Procalcitonin is an accurate predictor of bacterial infection in neutropenic children, while C-reactive-protein may be a better screening test in emergency settings.

Keywords :

• C-reactive protein
• febrile neutropenia
• infection marker
• procalcitonin

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We are indebted to Carlos Rodríguez-Galindo from St Jude Chidlren's Research Hospital for critical commentary and to Oscar Lozano and Jesse Haramati for proofreading the manuscript.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.