[Procalcitonin concentrations in the diagnosis of acute inflammatory reactions].

Procalcitonin is a calcitonin prohormone. During systemic inflammatory response it has the characteristics of an acute-phase protein. However, plasma levels rise more rapidly than those of the parameter (i.e. C-reactive protein) currently used in clinical practice to assess an acute-phase response. The procalcitonin assay is easy to perform and results can be available within a short period of time. This makes procalcitonin a valuable addition to the current diagnostic work-up for acutely ill patients. Procalcitonin can be used as a marker of inflammation, to differentiate serious bacterial infections from other generalised inflammatory diseases, to differentiate bacterial from viral infections, to differentiate infection from disease activity in patients with autoimmune diseases, to differentiate infection from rejection in transplant patients, and as a prognostic marker in critically ill patients. Procalcitonin may prove to be a valuable adjunct in diagnosing and treating patients with a variety of inflammatory disorders.