Procalcitonin does discriminate between sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Abstract
Aims: To evaluate whether procalcitonin (PCT) and C reactive protein (CRP) are able to discriminate between sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in critically ill children. Methods: Prospective, observational study in a paediatric intensive care unit. Kinetics of PCT and CRP were studied in patients undergoing open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (SIRS model; group I1) and patients with confirmed bacterial sepsis (group II). Results: In group I, PCT median concentration was 0.24 ng/ml (reference value 2 ng/ml for PCT and >79 mg/l for CRP. Conclusion: PCT is able to differentiate between SIRS and sepsis while CRP is not. Moreover, unlike CRP, PCT concentrations varied with the evolution of sepsis.