INFLAMMATION MARKERS AND BLOODSTREAM INFECTION (REVIEW OF LITERATURE)

In response to inflammation there appear « reactants of acute phase» which are nonspecific but they can show the disease gravity and prognosis. The markers of the acute phase are: C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), neopterin (NP), presepsin (PSP), necrosis tumor factor α (NTF-α), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), the total amount of leucocytes, neutrophils, protein fractions (α, β2, γ-globulins), IgM. CRP concentrations rise in the presence of bacterial infections and they are significanly higher in the positive blood cultures than in the contamination or negative ones. PCT levels grow in case of gram-negative bacteremia, but the levels are normal in case of coagulase-negative staphylococci bacteremia. PCT levels are more helpful here than CRP levels with suspected bacteremia. NP levels rise in patients with bacteremia. In the presence of infection, PSP becomes more active than CRP and PCT, and PSP sensitivity is 91,4% in patients with sepsis. Patients with infectious endocarditis have high levels of NTF-α in case of staphylococci infection in blood but the levels of NTF-α are low with enterococci and corynebacterium bloodstream infection. In case of inflammation the acute phase protein level changes are infection markers including bloodstream infection but they are not specific for determining any bacteremia aetiology.