The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice
Procalcitonin (PCT) has emerged as the most promising marker of infectious inflammation. This development is critical to the practicing doctor dealing with febrile patients with suspected sepsis. An ideal biomarker would provide data for early diagnosis, differentiation of bacterial from non-bacteri...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2014-03-01
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| Series: | Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/201010581402300106 |
| _version_ | 1818347320246272000 |
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| author | Clementine YF Yap MSc, MBA, DLM(ASCP) Tar Choon Aw MMed (Internal Medicine), FRCP (Edin), FRCPA |
| author_facet | Clementine YF Yap MSc, MBA, DLM(ASCP) Tar Choon Aw MMed (Internal Medicine), FRCP (Edin), FRCPA |
| author_sort | Clementine YF Yap MSc, MBA, DLM(ASCP) |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Procalcitonin (PCT) has emerged as the most promising marker of infectious inflammation. This development is critical to the practicing doctor dealing with febrile patients with suspected sepsis. An ideal biomarker would provide data for early diagnosis, differentiation of bacterial from non-bacterial causes of inflammation and information about the clinical course and prognosis of the disease. PCT is an early biomarker that is present within 3 to 4 hours of the triggering infection. An undetectable PCT level would efficiently rule out systemic infection. PCT may also be viewed as a marker of resolving infection as it has a half-life of about 22 hours, and its blood level correlates with bacterial load. Thus, PCT may be used as a clinical tool for early diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guide. Automated platforms with short assay times and service that is available 24 hours a day have enabled clinicians to obtain rapid reliable results for the early diagnosis and timely monitoring of appropriate pharmacotherapy. Clinicians should use PCT as an adjunct to clinical and other diagnostic criteria. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:32:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe0ed8ee4b66420484eb050490d68272 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2010-1058 2059-2329 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:32:17Z |
| publishDate | 2014-03-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe0ed8ee4b66420484eb050490d682722022-12-21T23:37:01ZengSAGE PublishingProceedings of Singapore Healthcare2010-10582059-23292014-03-012310.1177/201010581402300106The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical PracticeClementine YF Yap MSc, MBA, DLM(ASCP)Tar Choon Aw MMed (Internal Medicine), FRCP (Edin), FRCPAProcalcitonin (PCT) has emerged as the most promising marker of infectious inflammation. This development is critical to the practicing doctor dealing with febrile patients with suspected sepsis. An ideal biomarker would provide data for early diagnosis, differentiation of bacterial from non-bacterial causes of inflammation and information about the clinical course and prognosis of the disease. PCT is an early biomarker that is present within 3 to 4 hours of the triggering infection. An undetectable PCT level would efficiently rule out systemic infection. PCT may also be viewed as a marker of resolving infection as it has a half-life of about 22 hours, and its blood level correlates with bacterial load. Thus, PCT may be used as a clinical tool for early diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guide. Automated platforms with short assay times and service that is available 24 hours a day have enabled clinicians to obtain rapid reliable results for the early diagnosis and timely monitoring of appropriate pharmacotherapy. Clinicians should use PCT as an adjunct to clinical and other diagnostic criteria.https://doi.org/10.1177/201010581402300106 |
| spellingShingle | Clementine YF Yap MSc, MBA, DLM(ASCP) Tar Choon Aw MMed (Internal Medicine), FRCP (Edin), FRCPA The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare |
| title | The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice |
| title_full | The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice |
| title_fullStr | The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice |
| title_short | The Use of Procalcitonin in Clinical Practice |
| title_sort | use of procalcitonin in clinical practice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/201010581402300106 |
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