Procalcitonin and sepsis in the Emergency Department: an update

Due to significant mortality and morbidity which may be reduced by prompts treatment, there is great interest in determining an ideal biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis upon presentation to the Emergency Department. The most specific test is a positive blood culture, but its sensitivity is very low, and the results are usually available 2 days after sampling. For this reason, research is conducted into serum biomarkers with greater sensitivity for which results can be available within hours of presentation. High initial procalcitonin levels are a sensitive marker of bacterial infection, and the degree of procalcitonin elevation may determine which patients are at greater risk for adverse outcomes (mortality or ICU admission). The purpose of this narrative review is to evaluate the utility of procalcitonin as a diagnostic marker of sepsis in the emergency department and the use of procalcitonin-guided management algorithms.

A PubMed search was conducted in June 2020 for procalcitonin, resulting in the retrieval of 371 articles which were screened for relevance. 48 articles were included in the review.

Procalcitonin elevation may be used as an indication for initiation of antibiotic treatment, and antibiotics may be discontinued once procalcitonin normalizes. This approach leads to reduced antibiotic consumption, but it is not yet clear whether it ensures better outcomes for patients. Procalcitonin in centers where it is available could be a useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for patients presenting to the Emergency Department with symptoms suggestive of sepsis. Further research is however required to determine whether the use of procalcitonin measurements in management algorithms leads to improved patient outcomes.