Comparison of serum levels of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in patients with community acquired pneumonia and COPD exacerbation

Abstract EN

Background: Pneumonia is an important and commonly occurring disease, with significant morbidity and mortality.

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with a very rapid rise in procalcitonin (PCT), which has been considered a primary marker of bacterial infection.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of PCT in patients with CAP and in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: This cross-sectional prospective descriptive study was performed in the emergency department (ED) on patients with CAP and acute exacerbation of COPD.

A total of 53 patients were included in this study and their serum levels of PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured.

Results: The patients included 31 males and 22 females with a mean age of 76.529.93 years and a mean BMI of 25.983.04.

The mean PCT level was 0.931.56 in patients with CAP and 0.290.27 in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD; the PCT level was significantly higher in the patients with CAP (P = 0.049).

The mean CRP level was 34.0012.37 in patients with CAP and 31.6611.73 in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD; this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.483).

Conclusions: We found statistical differences in PCT levels that would differentiate CAP from acute exacerbation of COPD in the ED setting.

Further studies are required to verify this finding.