Biomarker helps predict peritonitis outcome

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Levels of the biomarker procalcitonin in the blood act as an indicator of prognosis in peritonitis.
Peritonitis, an infection of the tissue layer lining the abdominal wall, is the leading cause of abdominal sepsis. Organ failure linked to sepsis is one of the most common forms of death in the intensive care unit. Now researchers at the University of Saarland, Germany, reveal that levels of a biomarker called procalcitonin can help pinpoint those patients with peritonitis at most risk of organ failure.

Procalcitonin is a precursor to a hormone called calcitonin and its levels are already known to be elevated in cases of infection. In the study, 82 patients with peritonitis had their procalcitonin levels measured. Over follow up of 21 days, 42 patients developed lung failure, 25 developed kidney failure, 31 developed multiorgan failure - and nine died. Procalcitonin levels proved to be correlated with multiorgan failure while C-reactive protein levels, which were also measured, were not. Those with levels of 10 nanograms per milliliter of procalcitonin on two consecutive days were most at risk of multiorgan failure. And persistent levels of more than one nanogram per milliliter were also a prognostic indicator. Monitoring procalcitonin levels could be a simple way of discovering which patients with peritonitis are most at risk.

Source
Archives of Surgery February 2007 Volume 142 pages 134-142

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