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Updated: Feb 9, 2026
Murine Oropharyngeal Aspiration Model of Ventilator-associated and Hospital-acquired Bacterial Pneumonia
Published on: June 28, 2018
Sequential Measurements of Pentraxin 3 Serum Levels in Patients with Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Nested
Huseyin Bilgin1, Murat Haliloglu2, Ali Yaman3
1Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
Purpose:
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamics of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) compared with procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with suspicion of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
Materials And Methods:
We designed a nested case-control study. This study was performed in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care academic university and teaching hospital. Ninety-one adults who were mechanically ventilated for >48 hours were enrolled in the study. VAP diagnosis was established among 28 patients following the 2005 ATS/IDSA guidelines.
Results:
The median PTX3 plasma level was 2.66 ng/mL in VAP adults compared to 0.25 ng/mL in non-VAP adults (p < 0.05). Procalcitonin and CRP levels did not significantly differ. Pentraxin 3, with a 2.56 ng/mL breakpoint, had 85% sensitivity, 86% specificity, 75% positive predictive value, and 92.9% negative predictive value for VAP diagnosis (AUC = 0.78).
Conclusions:
With the suspicion of VAP, a pentraxin 3 plasma breakpoint of 2.56 ng/mL could contribute to the decision of whether to start antibiotics.
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