Comparison of the clinical application values of PCT, hs-CRP and SAA detection in the early diagnosis of sepsis

Objectives: To investigate the clinical application values of procalcitonin (PCT), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) in the early diagnosis of sepsis.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 36 patients admitted to Liaocheng People’s Hospital were selected from May 2018 to July 2019. According to infectious disease diagnostic criteria, 17 patients were confirmed to have sepsis (observation group), and 19 patients were determined to be nonseptic (control group). The levels of PCT, CRP and SAA of patients were detected on admission, and the clinical application values of PCT, CRP and SAA for sepsis were compared.

Results: Seventeen patients were included in the observation group, including 9 males and 8 females, with an average age of 52.18 ± 9.49 years; 19 patients were included in the control group, including 12 males and 7 females, with an average age of 51.53 ± 8.50 years. On admission, there were significant differences in white blood cell (WBC) count (t = 5.134), neutrophil count (t = 3.143), lymphocyte count (t = 2.510), PCT (t = 9.250), hs-CRP (t = 2.947) and SAA (t = 11.360) between the observation group and the control group, and the differences were statistically significant. For the comparison of clinical application values: the sensitivity of PCT, hs-CRP and SAA was 78.95%, 52.17% and 50.00%, respectively; the specificity of PCT, hs-CRP and SAA was 88.24%, 61.54% and 37.50%, respectively; the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of PCT, hs-CRP and SAA was 0.920, 0.684 and 0.870, respectively; the logistic regression coefficient of PCT, hs-CRP and SAA was -0.577, -0.028 and -0.009, respectively; and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of PCT, hs-CRP and SAA was 0.779-0.985, 0.508-0.828 and 0.716-0.958, respectively.

Conclusion: Compared with hs-CRP and SAA, PCT had a higher clinical application value for sepsis, and PCT could be used as a reliable index for the early diagnosis of sepsis.