The predictive value of procalcitonin for early detection of infection in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

ObjectiveAimed to investigate the predictive value of procalcitonin (PCT) in early detection of infections in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes, and to discover the optimum cut-off points of PCT. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted with type 2 diabetic patients (≥65 years) with lung infection (LI), urinary tract infection (UTI) or skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the 3 markers (PCT, WBC count, and CRP) were constructed and compared to assess their accuracies in diagnosing. ResultsAmong the three different groups with LI, UTI or SSTI, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of PCT was 0.98 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.96–0.99, p < 0.05) for the LI group, 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96–0.99, p < 0.05) for the UTI group, and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.94–1.00, p < 0.05) for the SSTI group. The optimum cut-off point of PCT level was 0.73 ng/mL (Sn 89.7%, Sp 97.7%) for the LI group, 1.48 ng/mL (Sn 88.9%, Sp 100%) for the UTI group, and 0.73 ng/mL (Sn 85.7%, Sp 97.7%) for the SSTI group. ConclusionPCT demonstrated the strongest correlation with each of the infection types, indicating significant diagnostic value. Optimum cut-off points of PCT levels in elderly diabetes were higher.