Usefulness of measuring serum procalcitonin levels by immunochromatographic assay in febrile neutropenia

In order to clarify the usefulness of measuring procalcitonin (PCT) values under the extreme condition called febrile neutropenia (FN), PCT was measured with immunochromatographic assay (ICA) and electro-chemi-luminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) at two time points: upon FN occurrence and 12 to 24 hours after FN occurrence, and correlations and associations between the two methods were reviewed. A strong correlation between the ICA and ECLIA results was observed when Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was 0.878, and the association was also demonstrated by Fisher's direct test since P=4.68×10(-10). Special equipment is not required, the operations are simple, and the ICA method currently adopted by many facilities can be used as the standard method even for the clinical condition known as FN.