Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34336223›Full record

ArticleNew microbes and new infections2021

Evaluation of serum procalcitonin level as a biomarker for disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

A Waris, M Din, N Iqbal, L Yar, A Khalid, M Nawaz, A Baset, M Ali

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in New microbes and new infections, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

A WarisDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
M DinDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
N IqbalDepartment of Statistics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
L YarDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
A KhalidSahiwal Medical College, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
M NawazDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
A BasetDepartment of Zoology, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Pakistan.
M AliDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Quaid-i-Azam University · PKBacha Khan University · PKUniversity of Health Sciences Lahore · PK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected millions of individuals around the globe. Forecasting the COVID-19 severity is essential, and various biomarkers could be used to evaluate it. The current study was therefore aimed to evaluate the serum pro-calcitonin (PCT) level as a biomarker for bacterial co-infection and disease severity in COVID-19 patients. A total of 430 COVID-19 positive individuals were examined, in which 332 (77.2%) were male individuals while 98 (22.8%) were female individuals. Among the examined samples, 281 were classified as moderate (PCT value 0.07 ± 0.06 ng/mL), 95 were severe (PCT value 0.5 ± 0.4 ng/mL), and 54 were classified as critical (PCT value > 1 ng/mL) individuals. The increase in the total serum level of PCT was observed with the severity of the disease (p < 0.05). The statistical analysis represented no association of PCT value with gender (p 0.9650) while revealed a significant association (p < 0.001) with the age and PCT value in COVID-19 patients. It can be concluded that the serial PCT measurement could determine the prognosis of the disease and the presence of bacterial co-infection in COVID-19 patients. Further exploration of the topic is needed to evaluate the effect of different therapies on the PCT level and to prescribe specific treatment options for coinfection.

Indexed as

Bacterial co-infectionbiomarker-COVID 19disease severityprocalcitonin

Identifiers

PMID34336223
PMCPMC8302477
OpenAlexW3185093200

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.