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Table 4 Percentage of patients with procalcitonin and C-reactive protein above threshold values

From: Performance of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin to distinguish viral from bacterial and malarial causes of fever in Southeast Asia

Aetiology

PCT 0.1 ng/ml

PCT 0.5 ng/ml

CRP 10 mg/L

CRP 20 mg/L

%, 95 % CI

%, 95 % CI

%, 95 % CI

%, 95 % CI

Dengue

72 (67–77)

25 (21–31)

46 (40–52)

28 (23–33)

Japanese encephalitis

60 (50–69)

32 (24–41)

64 (55–73)

52 (43–62)

Influenza

34 (26–42)

16 (11–24)

49 (40–57)

29 (22–37)

Rickettsial infections

87 (82–91)

53 (47–60)

94 (90–97)

80 (75–85)

Leptospirosis

95 (91–98)

65 (57–72)

97 (92–99)

92 (87–96)

Bacteraemia

90 (82–95)

71 (60–80)

93 (85–97)

86 (77–92)

Malaria

96 (91–98)

79 (72–85)

93 (88–97)

87 (80–92)

  1. In viral infections the proportion of patients with a raised procalcitonin level was consistently and significantly lower than that for CRP at 10 mg/L (p < 0.001). For the higher CRP threshold of 20 mg/L the differences in specificity were not significant, except in the case of Japanese encephalitis
  2. Abbreviation: PCT Procalcitonin; CRP C reactive protein
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BMC Infectious Diseases

ISSN: 1471-2334

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