Serum procalcitonin and C-reactive protein kinetics as indicators of treatmentoutcome in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Abstract

There has been growing interest in the use of serum procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The aim of this study was to investigate whether an assessment of fever, leukocyte count, and serum CRP and PCT levels on admission and during follow-up (day 3) provides any information about the clinical outcome in hospitalized patients with CAP. Patients with a diagnosis of CAP who were admitted to and followed at four university hospitals were evaluated retrospectively using the Turkish Thoracic Society Pneumonia Database. A total of 103 hospitalized CAP patients (57 males, mean age: 61.5 ± 16.7 years) were enrolled in the study. Treatment failure (TF) was observed in 20 patients (19.4%). Pneumonia Severity Index scores, serum CRP levels, and PCT levels on admission were significantly higher in the TF group. There were significant decreases in CRP and PCT levels between admission day and day 3 in the treatment success group. In patients with CAP, the body temperature and leukocyte count on admission do not predict outcome. Monitoring levels of CRP and PCT may be useful as a predictor of treatment outcome.