ArticleCureus2025
Serum Procalcitonin as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker in Children With Severe Bacterial Infection: A Prospective Observational Study.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEarly recognition of severe bacterial infection (SBI) in children is critical, yet traditional markers such as C‑reactive protein (CRP) lack adequate accuracy. Serum procalcitonin (PCT) rises rapidly after bacterial insult and may offer both diagnostic and prognostic value.
objectivesTo compare the diagnostic and prognostic performance of day 1 PCT with CRP in children with suspected SBI at a tertiary center in eastern India.
methodsIn this prospective observational study (July 2021 - June 2022), we enrolled 212 children (one month-18 years) admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi. Serum PCT and CRP were measured within six hours of admission. Outcomes included PICU admission, hospital length of stay (LOS), and in‑hospital mortality. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed with receiver‑operating‑characteristic (ROC) curves; sensitivity and specificity at the optimal PCT cut‑off were calculated with Wilson 95% confidence intervals (CI).
resultsMedian day 1 PCT was significantly higher in non‑survivors than survivors (3.96 ng mL⁻¹ vs. 1.22 ng mL⁻¹, p<0.001). For predicting mortality, PCT showed an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.954 (95% CI: 0.90-0.99), markedly superior to CRP (AUC: 0.770, 95% CI: 0.62-0.89). A PCT threshold of 2.0 ng mL⁻¹ yielded 87.5% sensitivity (95% CI: 64.0-96.5) and 81.1% specificity (95% CI: 75.1-86.0) for mortality prediction. Mean LOS increased stepwise across PCT quartiles (Q1: 6.3 days → Q4: 8.8 days,
conclusionsDay 1 PCT outperforms CRP for early risk‑stratification in pediatric bacterial infection, accurately identifying children who require intensive care and prolonged therapy. Incorporating PCT into admission protocols could enhance antibiotic stewardship and optimize PICU resource allocation, particularly in resource‑limited settings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.