What is procalcitonin blood test used for?
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A procalcitonin test may be used to help: Diagnose sepsis and other bacterial infections, such as meningitis. Diagnose kidney infections in children with urinary tract infections. Determine the severity of a sepsis infection.
What is procalcitonin?
Procalcitonin (PCT), a protein that consists of 116 amino acids, is the peptide precursor of calcitonin, a hormone that is synthesized by the parafollicular C cells of the thyroid and involved in calcium homeostasis. Procalcitonin arises from endopeptidase-cleaved preprocalcitonin.
Who discovered procalcitonin?
It was first identified by Leonard J. Deftos and Bernard A. Roos in the 1970s. It is composed of 116 amino acids and is produced by parafollicular cells (C cells) of the thyroid and by the neuroendocrine cells of the lung and the intestine.
How is procalcitonin made?
Procalcitonin (PCT), a protein of 116 amino-acids with molecular weight of 13 kDa, was discovered 25 years ago as a prohormone of calcitonin produced by C-cells of the thyroid gland and intracellularly cleaved by proteolytic enzymes into the active hormone.
What causes increased procalcitonin levels?
Procalcitonin is a substance produced by many types of cells in the body, often in response to bacterial infections but also in response to tissue injury. The level of procalcitonin in the blood can increase significantly in systemic bacterial infections and sepsis.
Is procalcitonin elevated in viral infections?
Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) concentration increases in bacterial infections but remains low in viral infections and inflammatory diseases. The change is rapid and the molecule is stable, making it a potentially useful marker for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections.
What causes procalcitonin to rise?
Factors which may cause a raised PCT apart from a bacterial infection include recent major surgery,14 severe trauma,15 severe burns16 and prolonged cardiogenic shock. However, in the absence of infection, these patients should have decreasing PCT levels on subsequent measurements.
Why is procalcitonin not elevated in viral infections?
It is thought that this may be due to the fact that cells within parenchymal tissues lack the necessary enzymes to process PCT [8]. Levels that occur in systemic viral infections are markedly lower than in bacterial infections [9].
Can procalcitonin be elevated in viral infection?
How do you lower procalcitonin levels?
Serum procalcitonin levels decrease rapidly with appropriate antibiotic treatment, diminishing the value of lumbar puncture performed 48–72 hours after admission to assess treatment efficacy.
Is procalcitonin an inflammatory marker?
Procalcitonin (PCT) is an inflammatory marker that has been used as indicator of severe bacterial infection. We evaluated the concentrations of PCT as a marker for systemic infection compared to C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients neutropenic febrile.
What is a procalcitonin test?
Michael Menna, DO, is a board-certified, active attending emergency medicine physician at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. A procalcitonin test is a type of blood test used to detect sepsis .
What is procalcitonin made of?
Procalcitonin. It arises once preprocalcitonin is cleaved by endopeptidase. It was first identified by Leonard J. Deftos and Bernard A. Roos in the 1970s. It is composed of 116 amino acids and is produced by parafollicular cells (C cells) of the thyroid and by the neuroendocrine cells of the lung and the intestine.
How are procalcitonin levels interpreted in sepsis?
Interpreting the Test Results. This can ensure the appropriate drug therapy and avoid the needless use of antibiotics. Studies have shown that, in people with sepsis, higher procalcitonin levels are associated with a greater risk of progression to severe sepsis, septic shock, and death.
What is the normal range of procalcitonin?
The level of procalcitonin in the blood stream of healthy individuals is below the limit of detection (0.01 µg/L) of clinical assays. The level of procalcitonin rises in a response to a pro-inflammatory stimulus, especially of bacterial origin.