Biomarkers for sepsis: a review with special attention to India

Sepsis is a serious infection and still a common cause of morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings such as India. Even when microbiologic diagnostics are available, bacteremia is only identified in a proportion of patients who present with sepsis and bloodstream infections. Biomarkers have been used in a variety of disease processes and can help aid in diagnosing bacterial infections. There have been numerous biomarkers investigated to aid with diagnosis and prognostication in sepsis with the majority suffering from lack of sensitivity or specificity. Procalcitonin has been heralded as the biomarker that holds the most promise for bloodstream infections. Data are emerging in India, and in this review, we focus on the current data of biomarkers in sepsis with particular attention to how biomarkers could be used to augment diagnosis and treatment in India.