Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41657443›Full record

ArticleTranslational pediatrics2026

Procalcitonin as a predictive biomarker for disease severity and prognosis in pediatric acute necrotizing encephalopathy.

Kechun Li, Lingzhi Liu, Fei Li, Chaonan Fan, Yushan He, Rubo Li, Gang Liu, Quan Wang, Suyun Qian

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Article in Translational pediatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Kechun Li *Department of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Lingzhi Liu *Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Fei LiDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Chaonan FanDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Yushan HeDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Rubo LiDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Gang LiuDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Quan WangDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
Suyun QianDepartment of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) elevation has been observed in non-infectious conditions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between early-stage PCT levels and prognosis of acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) in children. Methods: We enrolled children diagnosed with ANE who were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit of Beijing Children's Hospital and Henan Children's Hospital between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2023. Patients were categorized into survival and non-survival groups based on their 28-day outcomes. The optimal early PCT cutoff value was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: A total of 74 children with ANE were included. Viral pathogens accounted for 79.7% (59/74) of infections. Antimicrobial therapy was initiated in 17 patients (23.0%, 17/74) at admission. The 28-day mortality rate was 55.4% (41/74). The optimal cutoff value of PCT was 3.55 ng/mL (area under the curve =0.689). The proportion of patients with shock at admission was significantly higher in the PCT >3.55 ng/mL group than the PCT ≤3.55 ng/mL group (45.7% Conclusions: Early PCT >3.55 ng/mL was identified as an independent risk factor for 28-day mortality in children with ANE, and this should alert clinicians to the possibility of concurrent shock. The majority of PCT elevations were not attributable to bacterial infections in ANE patients.

Indexed as

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE)childrenprocalcitonin (PCT)prognosis

Identifiers

PMID41657443
PMCPMC12877891

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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.