Infection, Internal Medicine Patients, Procalcitonin
Conditions
Keywords
Procalcitonin, CRP, Acute Infection, Internal Medicine Ward
Brief summary
Procalcitonin is a well-known biomarker used to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections, assess a patient's risk category, and serve as a prognostic indicator. However, existing data are derived primarily from relatively young patients in intensive care units; there is a lack of information regarding the prognostic significance of procalcitonin in older patients hospitalized in internal medicine wards.
Detailed description
Procalcitonin is a biomarker used to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections, as well as to determine a patient's risk category and serve as a prognostic indicator. Furthermore, monitoring procalcitonin levels and analysing their kinetics during hospitalization improves the management of patients with sepsis and informs decision-making regarding antibiotic use. A wide range of studies has evaluated the diagnostic yield of procalcitonin in sepsis patients, demonstrating its superiority over CRP. However, the studies examined intensive care patients, trauma patients, surgical patients, or relatively young patients (mean age 69). There is significant heterogeneity among the studies, and they do not reach a definitive conclusion: some show an association between high procalcitonin levels and mortality, while others indicate that procalcitonin lacks independent prognostic value. Consequently, there is a significant gap in existing knowledge regarding the value of procalcitonin in a "real-life" setting-specifically, among elderly patients (over age 70) hospitalized in internal medicine wards. The investigators will identify all patients who underwent procalcitonin testing from 2020 onwards and were hospitalized in internal medicine or geriatric wards. Subsequently, the investigators will review medical records and extract relevant data regarding their disease course and outcomes.
Interventions
OTHERNo Interventions
No intervention, retrospective observational study
Sponsors
Barzilai Medical Center
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* All patients hospitalized in internal medicine and geriatric wards with a diagnosis of acute infectious disease who underwent procalcitonin testing, starting in 2020.
Exclusion criteria
* Age under 18 * Causes for false positive elevated cacitonin: * Extensive burns * Major operation in the last 30 days * Major trauma in the last 30 days. * Severe pancreatitis * Cardiogenic shock * Small Cell Lung Cancer * Thyroid gland malignancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mortality | 30 days | Evaluation of procalcitonin as a prognostic marker in patients hospitalized in the internal medicine and geriatric department by examining mortality during hospitalization, within 7 days and within 30 months. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Outcomes - Length of stay | 30 days | Comparison of procalcitonin and CRP as predictors of length of hospital stay |
| Additional data - morbidity | 30 days | need for vasopressors or mechanical ventilation, need for intensive care, need for invasive intervention |
Contacts
CONTACTDaniel Leshin Carmel Head of Infection Prevention and Control, MD
CONTACTPnina Nir
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDaniel Leshin Carmel, MD
Barzilai Medical Center
Outcome results
None listed