Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed.. Published Online First: 12 May 2009. doi:10.1136/adc.2008.155754
Original articles |
Rapid quantitative procalcitonin measurement to diagnose nosocomial infections in newborns
1 NICU, Arnaud de Villeneuve Hospital, Montpellier, France
2 NICU, La Croix-Rousse Hospital, Lyon, France
3 Department of statistics, Arnaud de Villeneuve Hospital, Montpellier, France
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: a-jacquot{at}chu-montpellier.fr.
Accepted 30 April 2009
Abstract
Background and objective: Serum procalcitonin (PCT) monitoring may help clinicians to manage nosocomial infections in neonates. This study investigated the diagnostic value of a new, rapid method to measure PCT and sought to determine the best cutoff value.
Methods: This monocentric, prospective study included all newborns with clinical suspicion of infection in a neonatal intensive care unit. Rapid, automated PCT measurements were performed on blood samples obtained for C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement. Negative and positive predictive values, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated. Logistic regression analysis determined the best cutoff value to obtain a negative predictive value of PCT that was at least 15% above that of CRP.
Results: Between June 2005 and May 2006, 73 newborns with a gestational age of 28 [26-30] weeks (median [Q25-Q75]) and a birth weight of 995 [720-1350] g were included. Thirty (41%) were infected. The best PCT cutoff value was 0.6 ng/mL, which provided a negative predictive value of 100%. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 100%, 65%, and 67%, respectively, for PCT at the 0.6 ng/mL cutoff value.
Conclusion: Rapid measurement of PCT could help to rule out nosocomial infection in newborns hospitalized in intensive care units.
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
eLetters:
Read all eLetters
- The exact negative predictive value of procalcitonin remains to be determined
- Pieter L.J. Degraeuwe
- Fetal Neonatal Ed. Online, 27 Oct 2009 [Full text]
- Full Text (Rapid PDF)
-
All Versions of this Article:
adc.2008.155754v1
94/5/F345 most recent - Submit a response
- Read responses to this article
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in ADC Online
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
