Serum procalcitonin (PCT) can be helpful in the assessment of a patient with meningococcemia.
Procalcitonin has a molecular weight of 13 kDalton with 116 amino acids.
Advantages of serum PCT measurement in a patient with meningococcemia:
(1) The presence of sepsis can be diagnosed at hospital presentation.
(2) The higher the serum PCT the more severe the sepsis and the worse the prognosis.
Brahms GbmH PCT Assay
Concentration
Multiple Upper Limit of Normal
upper limit of normal (ULN)
0.09 ng/mL
1
low risk of progression to sepsis
< 0.5 ng/mL
5.6
level associated with sepsis
> 2 ng/mL
22.2
level associated with septic shock
> 10 ng/mL
111.1
high risk of mortality (Leclerc et al)
> 130 ng/mL
1444.4
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Specialty: Infectious Diseases, Pulmonology, Neurology
ICD-10: ,
