Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34815675›Full record

ArticleInfection and drug resistance2021

Performance of Procalcitonin to Distinguish Fungal from Bacterial Infections in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Shuangjun He, Jun Ma, Chenyu Fan, Chao Tang, Yi Chen, Cuiying Xie

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Infection and drug resistance, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Shuangjun He *Department of Emergency, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Jun Ma *Department of Emergency, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Chenyu FanDepartment of Emergency, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Chao TangDepartment of Emergency, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Yi ChenDepartment of Emergency, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Cuiying XieDepartment of Emergency, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Renji Hospital · CNShanghai Jiao Tong University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo evaluate the performance of serum procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations to diagnose fungal infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PATIENTS AND

methodsFrom January 2017 to October 2020, SLE patients hospitalized for serious infection with an identified single bacterial or fungal pathogen, as well as PCT measured within 24h after admission were included. The diagnostic performance of PCT was evaluated independently and in combination with the white blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The analysis included the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and the crude and adjusted area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC).

resultsSixty-nine patients were included; 26 had a fungal infection (38%) and 43 had a bacterial infection (22 gram-positive and 21 gram-negative). Fungal infection patients were mainly distributed in the respiratory group (88.5%), and bacterial infection distribution were more prevalent in respiratory group (44.2%) and abdominal/urinary group (23.3%). The PCT concentration was significantly lower in fungal infections than bacterial infections (fungal: 0.22 ng/mL, interquartile range [IQR], 0.09-0.44 vs bacterial: 0.60 ng/mL, IQR, 0.16-5.74; p = 0.016) and differed significantly between different infection sites (p = 0.022). PCT had better diagnostic performance for predicting fungal infection (AUROC = 0.731) than the WBC count (AUROC = 0.581), the CRP level (AUROC = 0.716), and ESR (AUROC = 0.583). PCT and ESR together had the best diagnostic performance, with 46.2% sensitivity and 88.4% specificity. Further, the AUROC increased compared to PCT alone but was statistically insignificant (p = 0.693).

conclusionFor SLE patients with serious infection, the PCT concentration had better diagnostic accuracy for predicting fungal infection than the WBC count, the CRP level, and ESR. Combining PCT and ESR obtained the highest AUROC and provided an acceptable discrimination performance.

Indexed as

autoimmune diseasediagnostic markersemergency departmentmicroorganisms

Identifiers

PMID34815675
PMCPMC8605806
OpenAlexW3213250253

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Registered trials

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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.