Use of Procalcitonin as a Biomarker for Sepsis in Pediatric Burns

Abstract Introduction: Infection and sepsis continue to be the leading cause of morbidity and death in burn injuries. Diagnosing sepsis in burns is challenging as signs and symptoms of sepsis are not specific and overlap with those related to the burn injury. While use of procalcitonin (PCT) as a biomarker is recommended for diagnosing sepsis in burns, evidence for children with burns is scarce. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of PCT for distinguishing sepsis in pediatric burns.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a single pediatric burn unit. Children hospitalized with burns ≤30% of total body surface area were included while patients with chemical burn, inhalation injury or concomitant chronic disease were excluded. Patients were classified into three groups for sepsis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or controls using the American Burn Association (ABA) criteria. Predictive role of C-reactive protein (CRP) and PCT was investigated for distinguishing sepsis.Results: Seventy-two patients were included in the study. Median total body surface area (TBSA) size was 12% (2.0-28.5%) and median abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI) score was 3 (2-7). Median length of burn unit stay was 9.5 days (1-59 days). Sepsis was diagnosed in 11 patients (15.2%) and SIRS was present in 23 patients (40.0%), whereas 38 patients (52.8%) had neither SIRS nor sepsis (control group). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that CRP and PCT levels distinguished sepsis patients from non-sepsis patients while PCT had a higher positive predictive value (64.3% vs 47.6%). Optimal cut-off values of CRP and PCT for distinguishing sepsis were 66.75 mg/L and 2.54 ng/mL. Conclusions: PCT levels could distinguish sepsis in children with burn injuries, performing better than CRP levels. Confirmatory studies are needed to evaluate the development of sepsis and role of PCT for diagnosing sepsis in pediatric burn patients.