ArticleBMC geriatrics2019
Procalcitonin is not an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, albeit predicts pneumonia severity in patients with pneumonia acquired outside the hospital.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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9 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk factors for pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease complicated by purulent meningitis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Effect of Body Mass Index on Procalcitonin Level in Patients with Pneumonia: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.Advances in respiratory medicine · 2025Article
- Prognosis prediction of procalcitonin within 24 h for acute diquat poisoning.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Identification of RAGE and OSM as New Prognosis Biomarkers of Severe Pneumonia.Canadian respiratory journal · 2022Article
- Persistent eosinopenia is associated with in-hospital mortality among older patients: unexpected prognostic value of a revisited biomarker.BMC geriatrics · 2021Article
- Ulinastatin plus biapenem for severe pneumonia in the elderly and its influence on pulmonary function and inflammatory cytokines.American journal of translational research · 2021Article
- Risk for prolonged hospitalization and mortality in aged community acquired pneumonia patients: a retrospective study in Japan.Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition · 2020Article
- Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein might determine the severity and the presences of major/minor criteria for severe community-acquired pneumonia and best predicted mortality.Respiratory research · 2020Article
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9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundProcalcitonin (PCT) is a useful marker for pneumonia. However, its clinical usefulness in elderly patients has not been studied extensively. This study aimed to assess the relationship between PCT and prognosis and pneumonia severity in elderly patients with pneumonia acquired outside the hospital.
methodsData considered relevant to pneumonia severity and prognosis were retrospectively obtained from clinical charts of all patients with pneumonia who were admitted to our hospital from 2010 to 2017. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality in elderly patients (aged ≥75 years), and the relationship between PCT levels and pneumonia severity, as determined by the pneumonia severity index (PSI) was also examined.
resultsData were collected from 667 patients, of which 436 were elderly patients. Multivariate and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that albumin, body mass index, and PSI class rather than PCT are important factors related to 30-day mortality in elderly patients. PCT was also not an independent prognostic factor in younger patients. PCT levels significantly differed by pneumonia severity (mild, moderate, and severe) in both younger (p < 0.001) and elderly (p < 0.0001) patients, with levels increasing as severity increased. In contrast, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and white blood cell counts did not significantly differ by pneumonia severity in younger and elderly patients. A subgroup analysis focused on Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia revealed that PCT levels differed by severity in elderly patients (p = 0.03), with levels increasing as severity increased.
conclusionPCT was not an independent predictor of 30-day mortality in both of elderly and younger patients. PCT levels, but not CRP levels, significantly increased with increasing pneumonia severity in younger and elderly patients, although the degree of increase tended to be lower in elderly patients compared to younger patients for the same severity. PCT levels also significantly increased with increasing pneumonia severity in elderly patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia.
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