Procalcitonin as a diagnostic biomarker for septic shock and bloodstream infection in burn patients from the Formosa Fun Coast dust explosion

Abstract Background/Purpose Infection is the most common cause of death following burn injury. The study was conducted to compare the diagnostic value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) with the other current benchmarks as early predictors of septic shock and bloodstream infection in burn patients. Methods We included 24 patients admitted to the Burn Unit of a medical center from June 2015 to December 2015 from the Formosa Fun Coast dust explosion. We categorized all patients at initial admission into either sepsis or septic shock groups. Laboratory tests including the worst PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, platelet (PLT), and white blood cell (WBC) count were performed at Results Significantly higher PCT levels were observed among participants with septic shock compared to those with sepsis (47.19 vs. 1.18 ng/mL, respectively; p  Conclusions PCT levels can be helpful in determining the septic shock and bloodstream infection in burn patients but CRP levels, PLT, and WBC count were of little diagnostic value.