ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We study the extent to which procalcitonin (Pro-CT) and/or C-reactive protein (CRP) may be helpful in the early triage of febrile patients admitted to a general internal medicine ward. METHODS: This is a prospective, observational study on 62 admitted patients in whom a temperature >38°C had been observed the day before inclusion. RESULTS: Neither Pro-CT nor CRP was able to discriminate infectious (or bacterial) diseases from the other etiologies as a group, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.63 (95% CI 0.47-0.79, p=0.15) for Pro-CT and 0.61, (95CI 0.44-0.78, p=0.23) for CRP. Sensitivity and specificity for Pro-CT varied between 0.59 and 0.67 for a cut-off point of 0.2 ng/mL and 0.03 and 1 for a cut-off point of 10.0 ng/mL. However, in subgroup analysis, Pro-CT was able to discriminate between infectious and inflammatory diseases (Welch two sample t-test t=2.39, df=44.3, p=0.021).
