[Procalcitonin as a marker of intra-abdominal infection]

Procalcitonin is a quite specific biomarker of infection and in recent years has shown its superiority to others markers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein, for the diagnosis and monitoring of a variety of infections.

For this reason, several researchers have studied the potential role of procalcitonin for diagnosis and management of these infections.

Intra-abdominal infections are a heterogeneous group of infections that, sometimes, pose difficult challenges to physicians. The published studies have produced mixed results, leading to controversy on the utility of this marker in intra-abdominal infections.

This review summarizes these data and discuss the utility of procalcitonin in several intra abdominal infections, including postoperative infections.