Chromogranin A levels and mortality in patients with severe sepsis.

CONTEXT: Chromogranin A (CgA) is a novel biomarker with potential to assess mortality risk of patients with severe sepsis. OBJECTIVE: Assess association of CgA levels and mortality risk of severely septic patients. METHODS: Serum CgA levels were measured in 50 hospitalized, severely septic patients with organ failure <48 h. RESULTS: Higher CgA levels trended toward higher ICU and hospital mortality. Patients without cardiovascular disease who died in the ICU had higher median (IQR) CgA levels 602.3 (343.3, 1134.3) ng/ml versus 205.5 (130.7, 325.9) ng/ml, p = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS: High CgA levels predict ICU mortality in severely septic patients without prior cardiovascular disease.