Initial procalcitonin level predicts infection and its outcome in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma with febrile neutropenia.

We explored whether initially determined procalcitonin (PCT) levels could facilitate assessment of the risks of infection and death due to treatment failure in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with newly developed febrile neutropenia (FN). In the 212 examined episodes, the initial PCT value was markedly higher in patients with microbiologically documented infection (MDI) or clinically documented infection compared with patients with fevers of unknown origin (p < 0.001 for both). Patients with initial PCT values ≥ 0.50 ng/mL were at high risk of MDI (sensitivity 83.5%, specificity 77.2%). A significantly elevated PCT level was closely correlated with patient mortality (area under the curve [AUC] 0.864, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.811-0.907, p < 0.001) and patients' admission to the intensive care unit (AUC 0.926, 95% CI 0.882-0.957, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the initially determined PCT value was a useful marker for identifying infection and predicting outcome in patients with NHL with FN.