Comparison of CRP and Procalcitonin During the Course of Sepsis in ICU

Abstract

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response (SIRS) of the host to several infections. It can lead to severe sepsis which remains a principle cause of death in Intensive Care Units (ICU) worldwide, with one in four patients dying of severe sepsis or septic shock . Early recognition of sepsis is not always straightforward and clinical signs at presentation can be misleading and very heterogeneous due to frequent comorbidities. In the emergency setting therefore an urgent need for a reliable diagnostic procedure, allowing early discrimination between SIRS and sepsis, is mandatory. Biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), introduced among the diagnostic criteria of sepsis could contribute to promptly identify patients affected by sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock who could benefit from quick and appropriate therapy.