Clinical value of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in community acquired bacterial pneumonia

Objective To explore the clinical diagnostic value of procalcitonin( PCT) and C-reactive protein( CRP) in bacterial community acquired pneumonia( CAP). Methods We included patients suffering from community acquired pneumonia from January 2010 to December 2012 in our hospital. The serum CRP and PCT levels were compared between patients diagnosed as bacterial CAP and those with non-bacterial CAP. Results The level of CRP was( 62. 73 ± 15. 36) mg / L and that of PCT was( 9. 35 ± 4. 02) μg / L in patients with bacterial CAP, which were significantly higher than those in patients with non-bacterial CAP( P 0. 05). The area under ROC curve was 0. 854 for CRP and 0. 835 for PCT in bacterial CAP patients,which showed good sensitivity and specificity for bacterial CAP. Conclusion The serum CRP and PCT have a good clinical diagnostic value for bacterial CAP,which could be used in pathogen diagnosis,assessment and prognosis.