Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38633859›Full record

ArticleInfectious diseases & clinical microbiology2023

Procalcitonin Levels in Identifying Bacterial Infections in Children with and without COVID-19.

Grace Fisler, Timothy Brandt, G Amin Ostovar, Matthew D Taylor, Sareen Shah

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Infectious diseases & clinical microbiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 27% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Hospital Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Patients with COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis from the UAE.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024
    Article
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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Grace FislerDivision of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7001-000X
Timothy BrandtDivision of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2850-4511
G Amin OstovarDivision of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7973-3543
Matthew D TaylorDivision of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2643-3050
Sareen ShahDivision of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0510-9326
Cohen Children's Medical Center · USCedars-Sinai Medical Center · USChildren's Hospital at Montefiore · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Elevated procalcitonin levels have been associated with bacterial infection in children. Observational studies reported high procalcitonin values in COVID-19. Data on bacterial coinfections in pediatric COVID-19 is sparse; small studies suggest a low coinfection rate. In this study, we aimed to quantify the positive predictive value (PPV) of procalcitonin in identifying bacterial infection in children with and without COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for 215 children <21 years admitted to our tertiary children's hospital between February 1, 2013, and July 15, 2020, who had procalcitonin levels measured within 48 hours of admission. Confirmed bacterial infection was defined as positive blood, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture, positive endotracheal culture with evidence of leukocytosis on Gram stain, or pneumonia by chest radiograph. Suspected bacterial infection was defined as confirmed bacterial infection or administration of antibiotics for >48 hours. Results: Of the 215 patients, 73 were admitted for COVID-19 (66% multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children [MIS-C], 34% acute COVID-19). The PPV of an elevated procalcitonin level >1.0 ng/mL in identifying suspected bacterial infections for those with MIS-C was 6.3% (95% CI=0-15), in acute COVID-19 was 29% (95% CI=0-62%), and in the non-COVID-19 cohort was 75% (95% CI=62-88%). For identification of confirmed bacterial infection, PPV of an elevated procalcitonin level was 0% in MIS-C, 14% (95% CI=0-40%) in acute COVID-19, and 55% (95% CI=40-69%) in the non-COVID-19 cohort. Conclusion: We found a low PPV of elevated procalcitonin level above 1 ng/mL in identifying either culture-confirmed or presumed bacterial infection in children hospitalized with COVID-19-related illness.

Indexed as

COVID-19multisystem inflammatory syndrome in childrenpediatricsprocalcitonin

Identifiers

PMID38633859
PMCPMC10986730
OpenAlexW4390605021

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.