PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Motoi Ugajin AU - Kenichi Yamaki AU - Natsuko Hirasawa AU - Takeo Yagi TI - Predictive Values of Semi-Quantitative Procalcitonin Test and Common Biomarkers for the Clinical Outcomes of Community-Acquired Pneumonia AID - 10.4187/respcare.02807 DP - 2013 Oct 29 TA - Respiratory Care PG - respcare.02807 4099 - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2013/10/29/respcare.02807.short 4100 - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2013/10/29/respcare.02807.full AB - Background The semi-quantitative serum procalcitonin (PCT) test (BRAHMS PCT-Q®) is available conveniently in clinical practice. However, there is little data on the relationship between this semi-quantitative PCT test results and clinical outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We investigated the usefulness of this PCT test for predicting the clinical outcomes of CAP in comparison with severity scoring systems and the blood urea nitrogen to serum albumin (B/A) ratio, which has been reported to be a simple but reliable prognostic indicator in our prior CAP study. Methods This retrospective study included data from subjects hospitalized for CAP from August 2010 through October 2012 in whom the semi-quantitative serum PCT test was performed on admission. The demographic characteristics, laboratory biomarkers, microbiological test results, pneumonia severity index (PSI), CURB-65, and A-DROP on admission were retrieved from their medical charts. The outcomes were mortality within 28 days of admission and the need for intensive care. Results Of the 213 subjects with CAP enrolled, 20 died within 28 days of admission and 32 required intensive care. Mortality did not differ significantly among subjects with different semi-quantitative serum PCT levels; however, subjects with serum PCT levels ≥ 10.0 ng/mL were more likely to require intensive care than those with lower levels (p<0.001). The elevation of semi-quantitative serum PCT levels was more frequently observed in subjects with proven etiology, especially pneumococcal pneumonia. Using the receiver-operating characteristic curves for mortality, the area under curve was 0.86 for PSI class, 0.81 for B/A ratio, 0.81 for A-DROP, 0.80 for CURB-65, and 0.57 for semi-quantitative PCT test. Conclusion The semi-quantitative serum PCT level on admission was less predictive of mortality from CAP as compared to the B/A ratio. However, the subjects with serum PCT levels ≥ 10.0 ng/mL were more likely to require intensive care than those with lower levels.