The Value of Using Procalcitonin Instead of CRP as A Biomarker of Sepsis in Hospitalized Patients in Al-Ahrar Teaching Hospital

Background: Sepsis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs). Defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, early recognition and prompt treatment are critical to improving outcomes. In resource-constrained hospitals, accurate and timely diagnosis is especially vital to guide antibiotic stewardship and reduce unnecessary healthcare costs. Procalcitonin, the precursor of the hormone calcitonin, is produced in response to bacterial endotoxins and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Unlike CRP, PCT is more specific to bacterial infections and less influenced by viral infections or sterile inflammation.
Objectives: Based on blood culture results, this study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic utility of PCT and CRP as early indicators of infection in terms of their capacity to forecast sepsis, intending to assess the benefits of routinely diagnosing sepsis in low-resource hospitals using PCT rather than CRP.
Patients and Methods: In one hundred hospitalized patients suspected to have sepsis, PCT levels were compared to CRP levels in relation to results of blood culture.
Results: 15% of hospitalized patients with suspected sepsis had a positive blood culture.  Compared to CRP, which had sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the curve of 18.5%, 89.1%, 66.6%, 48.2%, and 0.640, respectively, PCT had these values at 33.3%, 98.3%, 93.3%, 67%, and 0.854.
Conclusion: PCT is found to be superior to CRP in terms of accuracy and specificity, and more reliable marker in identification of sepsis in hospitalized patient.