Clinical study of Presepsin and Pentraxin3 in critically ill children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
• Biomarker Discovery
• Sepsis Diagnostics

Background:

• Sepsis diagnosis and monitoring in critically ill children remain challenging.
• Identifying reliable biomarkers is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Acute phase proteins are potential candidates for sepsis assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of Presepsin and Pentraxin3 in critically ill children.
• To compare biomarker levels between septic and non-septic patients.
• To assess the association of these biomarkers with disease severity and mortality.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational study involving 80 critically ill children and 80 healthy controls.
• Measurement of serum Presepsin and Pentraxin3 levels within 24 hours of PICU admission.
• Calculation of Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) and Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM2) scores.

Main Results:

• Presepsin and Pentraxin3 were significantly elevated in the patient cohort compared to controls.
• Pentraxin3 levels were higher in non-survivors and correlated with PIM2, showing moderate mortality prediction (AUC 0.631).
• Presepsin was associated with increased mechanical ventilation use and longer PICU stays.

Conclusions:

• Presepsin and Pentraxin3 are useful acute phase proteins for monitoring critically ill children and sepsis diagnosis.
• Pentraxin3 shows association with mortality, though with modest discriminatory power.
• Presepsin correlates with indicators of disease severity, suggesting its role in monitoring illness progression. Further large-scale studies are warranted.