Observational studyPediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany)2021
Procalcitonin serum levels in stage 5 chronic kidney disease children on hemodialysis.
Observational study in Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Procalcitonin kinetics in critically ill children: impact of continuous kidney replacement therapy modality and dose.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Observational
- Use of procalcitonin in therapeutic decisions in the pediatric intensive care unit.Annals of intensive care · 2025Review
- Procalcitonin: Infection or Maybe Something More? Noninfectious Causes of Increased Serum Procalcitonin Concentration: Updated Knowledge.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInfections are responsible for morbidity and mortality in children on hemodialysis (HD). Procalcitonin (PCT) is rarely used in this population, even though it is an efficient biomarker of infection and sepsis. Our aim was to study PCT baseline level in uninfected children with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD 5) on HD, and determine how to use it in this population.
methodsProspective observational study including 40 uninfected children on classical HD or hemodiafiltration (HDF) in three pediatric HD centers in the Paris region. PCT was monitored before and after three consecutive sessions within 1 week.
resultsMedian pre-dialysis PCT was 0.60 ng/mL [0.36-1.15], median post-dialysis PCT was 0.23 ng/mL [0.10-0.47], PCT reduction rate was 59.8% [37.5-75.8]. Seventy percent of pre-dialysis PCT were <1 ng/mL. Anuric patients had higher pre-dialysis PCT than those with residual urine output (0.70 [0.42-1.30] vs. 0.48 [0.30-0.93] ng/mL, p=0.01). HDF was more efficient than HD to clear PCT during sessions (reduction rate 75% [67-80] vs. 37 [31-50]), p<0.001).
conclusionPCT levels in pediatric HD patients without infection are higher than normal, but this increase is relatively moderate compared to massive increases of PCT in children with bacterial infections on HD. If PCT is measured after dialysis sessions, the specific technique-dependent reduction rates should be taken into consideration. Moderately increased PCT levels around 2 ng/ml should be interpreted with caution; however, higher PCT serum levels can be used to motivate rapid start of antibiotic treatment in pediatric HD patients.
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