Presepsin and procalcitonin as markers of infectious respiratory diseases in children: a protocol for a scoping review of the literature

Abstract

Background: Presepsin is a new inflammatory marker used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of severe bacterial infections, which might be used in combination or substitution of other classical indexes such as procalcitonin. Presepsin has been studied mainly in specific categories of patients (generally adults, critically ill patients or neutropenic children) to identify severe bacterial infections and to predict the mortality risk, while the role of this marker in discriminating bacterial from viral infections in otherwise healthy children of different age groups is less examined. This scoping review aims to better explore available evidence around the potential role of presepsin in pediatric respiratory infectious diseases, analyzing its ability to distinguish the severity and type of respiratory pathology and comparing it with a classic inflammation index such as procalcitonin. Methods: We started our research in February 2023 in the following bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and SCOPUS. The main review question will be “What is known about the diagnostic role of presepsin and/or procalcitoninin the differential diagnosis of respiratory tract infection’s severity and etiology?” We will include randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective observational studies, performed on children and adolescents (younger than 18 years), hospitalized or not, with a confirmed diagnosis of upper and/or lower respiratory infectious disease. We will include children diagnosed with pneumonia, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, croup, and other types of infectious respiratory diseases. To report our findings, we will follow Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. Dissemination: The findings of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented in national and international conferences.