Evaluation of Serum Procalcitonin as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker for Sepsis in Major Burn Patients: A Prospective Study

Abstract

epsis in burns worsens the patient’s prognosis and increases the risk of organ failure and death. The leading cause of death in burn patients is multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), which is a direct response to sepsis. Identifying early sepsis is very important, given that every 6 h delay in the diagnosis of sepsis reduces survival by 10%. Difficulty in diagnosing sepsis in burn is due to the systemic response to the burn itself clinically mimics sepsis. The aim of all interventions is still patient survival. However, the patient has a pre-existing set of morbidity variables that affect his response to burn insult and therefore the result of these interventions may differ from patient to another. The study was carried out in Burn Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Ain Shams University Hospitals. Patient details: 30 patients with major burn (more than 20% of TBSA) were included. The Local Ethics Committee approved the study, and informed consent was obtained from all participants or their guardians.