ArticleAmerican journal of clinical pathology2021
Procalcitonin Correlates With but Is Not Superior to Other Diagnostic Markers of Bacterial Pneumonia.
Article in American journal of clinical pathology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- ERS/ESCMID state-of-the-science statement on the role of rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis and management of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.The European respiratory journal · 2026Review
- Comparative analysis of routine peripheral blood parameters in influenza and COVID-19 patients: a retrospective study.Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo · 2026Article
- Improved diagnostic markers for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in COPD patients.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- A diagnostic test: combined detection of heparin-binding protein, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein to improve the diagnostic accuracy of bacterial respiratory tract infections.Journal of thoracic disease · 2022Article
- Changes in Serum CRP and PCT Levels in Patients with Acute Simple Lower Urinary Tract Infection and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Treatment with Shuangdong Capsules.Emergency medicine international · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesDespite extensive research on procalcitonin (PCT)-guided therapy in lower respiratory tract infections, the association between PCT and bacterial pneumonia remains unclear.
methodsWe evaluated retrospectively the performance of PCT in patients presenting with lower respiratory tract infection symptoms and grouped by seven diagnoses. All patients had microbial testing, chest imaging, and CBC counts within 1 day of PCT testing.
resultsMedian PCT level in patients diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia was significantly higher than in patients diagnosed with other sources of infections or those not diagnosed with infections. Median PCT levels were not different among patients grouped by type or quantity of pathogen detected. They were significantly higher in patients with higher pathogenicity scores for isolated bacteria, those with abnormal WBC count, and those with chest imaging consistent with bacterial pneumonia. A diagnostic workup that included imaging, WBC count, and Gram stain had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.748, and the addition of PCT increased it to 0.778.
conclusionsPCT was higher in patients diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. Less clear is its diagnostic ability to detect bacterial pneumonia over and above imaging and laboratory data routinely available to clinicians.
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