The emerge of a pandemic Current understanding of COVID-19 How to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection Management of COVID-19 Long COVID Vaccination—once and for all?

Content Introduction Diagnosing and treating sepsis Can PCT testing improve health care? Can PCT testing reduce health-care cost? Can PCT testing improve health care at reduced cost? Introduction Procalcitonin (PCT) is a 116 amino acid prohormone of calcitonin and katacalcin, both involved with...

Asymptomatic severe hypoxemia (reduced pO2(a)) is an important feature of COVID-19 for some patients; mechanisms discussed and prognosis examined

Evidence of a potential role for D-dimer and Procalcitonin testing used to assess comorbidities of patients hospitalized with COVID-19

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a peptide (116 amino acids) precursor of the calcium-regulating thyroid hormone, calcitonin. Serum/plasma levels are very low (<0.1 ng/mL) or even undetectable in healthy individuals. However, in response to cytokine release during systemic inflammation, PCT synthesis increases in extra-thyroidal ...

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker which is elevated in bacterial infection. Usefulness of PCT measurements in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has to be proven by many studies. A single measurement of PCT on admission or outpatient visits is useful to diagnose CAP, estimate causative pathogens pattern, and for...

Bacterial infections are one of the major reasons for patients presenting to the ED - and the main cause of death in elderly patients. It is important to identify elderly patients with bacterial infections early and initiate treatment in the ED for a better outcome. However, an infection in an elderly patient can be...

Sepsis and septic shock are related consequences of infection that together are a common cause of serious morbidity and high mortality around the world. Survival after sepsis/septic shock depends on rapid diagnosis and treatment with intense monitoring in a critical care unit. Following a 2-year expert appraisal of...

For patients presenting to the ED with symptoms of a suspected infection, measuring procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful diagnostic tool to identify bacterial infections, such as sepsis, allowing for early initiation of proper antibiotic treatment. In assessing the severity of sepsis, serum PCT levels are an important...

Reprinted from Ann Lab Med 2014 Sep; 34(4):263-73. Procalcitonin (PCT) is used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. At the same time, PCT has also been used to guide antibiotic therapy. This review outlines the main indications for PCT measurement and points out possible...