Hoshino K, et al. - This study hypothesised that procalcitonin (PCT) and presepsin (PSEP) levels could increase after severe traumatic injuries. This current study advocated caution when using PCT to diagnose sepsis in trauma patients on day 1. In addition, packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion was found to be a risk factor for increasing PCT levels and, PSEP levels remained unaltered by trauma during the early phases.

Methods

• This study included trauma patients with an Injury Severity Score of ≥16 from October 2013 to September 2015.
• Researchers assessed PCT and PSEP levels and their positive rates on days 0 and 1.
• They compared PCT and PSEP levels on days 0 and 1.
• They also identified risk factors for increasing sepsis biomarker levels by multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results

• This study included 75 patients.
• Findings showed that PCT levels on days 0 and 1 were 0.1±0.4 and 1.8±6.3 ng/ml, respectively (P=0.02).
• As per data, PSEP levels on days 0 and 1 were 221±261 and 222±207 pg/ml, respectively (P=0.98).
• It was demonstrated in multivariate logistic regression analyses that packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion was the only independent risk factor for higher PCT levels on day 1 (P=0.04).