Lubei Rao1, Zhixin Song2, Xiaoyan Yu3, Qianqian Tu3, Yu He4, Yetao Luo5, Yibing Yin6, Dapeng Chen7. 1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation base of Child development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics. Chongqing, China. Electronic address: raolubei@stu.cqmu.edu.cn. 2. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation base of Child development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics. Chongqing, China. Electronic address: songzhixin@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn. 3. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation base of Child development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics. Chongqing, China. 4. Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. 5. Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, Department of Pediatric Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. 6. Key Laboratory of Diagnostic Medicine designated by the Ministry of Education, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. 7. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation base of Child development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics. Chongqing, China. Electronic address: chendapeng@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Infections are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates and may also have severe long-term consequences. As early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis improves prognosis, identification of new or complementary biomarkers is of great importance. In this study, we have evaluated the diagnostic value of progranulin (PGRN) in early-onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) and compare its effectiveness with other commonly used biomarkers, such as procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP). METHODS: A total of 121 infants with gestational age of >34 weeks admitted with suspected EOS were included in this study. Before initiating therapy, blood samples for whole blood count, CRP, PCT and PGRN were obtained from all neonates. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Serum PGRN level of infected group was significantly higher than uninfected group (median 47.72 vs. 37.86 ng/ml, respectively; Mann-Whitney p < 0.0001). The ROC area under the curve (AUC) was 0.786 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.706-0.867; p < 0.0001] for PGRN, 0.699 (95% CI 0.601-0.797; p = 0.0001) for age adjusted PCT, and 0.673 (95% CI 0.573-0.773; p = 0.0007) for CRP. With a cut-off value of 37.89 ng/ml, the diagnostic sensitivity and negative predictive value of PGRN were 94.34% and 91.7%, respectively. PGRN could significantly predict EOS independently of PCT (p < 0.0001), and the combined use of PGRN and PCT could significantly improve diagnostic performance for EOS (0.806; 95% CI 0.73-0.88; p < 0.0001), with a specificity of 89.06% and a positive predictive value of 81.10%. CONCLUSIONS: PGRN may be used as a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of EOS, and the combined use of PGRN and PCT could improve the diagnosis of sepsis.
BACKGROUND: Infections are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates and may also have severe long-term consequences. As early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis improves prognosis, identification of new or complementary biomarkers is of great importance. In this study, we have evaluated the diagnostic value of progranulin (PGRN) in early-onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) and compare its effectiveness with other commonly used biomarkers, such as procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP). METHODS: A total of 121 infants with gestational age of >34 weeks admitted with suspected EOS were included in this study. Before initiating therapy, blood samples for whole blood count, CRP, PCT and PGRN were obtained from all neonates. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Serum PGRN level of infected group was significantly higher than uninfected group (median 47.72 vs. 37.86 ng/ml, respectively; Mann-Whitney p < 0.0001). The ROC area under the curve (AUC) was 0.786 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.706-0.867; p < 0.0001] for PGRN, 0.699 (95% CI 0.601-0.797; p = 0.0001) for age adjusted PCT, and 0.673 (95% CI 0.573-0.773; p = 0.0007) for CRP. With a cut-off value of 37.89 ng/ml, the diagnostic sensitivity and negative predictive value of PGRN were 94.34% and 91.7%, respectively. PGRN could significantly predict EOS independently of PCT (p < 0.0001), and the combined use of PGRN and PCT could significantly improve diagnostic performance for EOS (0.806; 95% CI 0.73-0.88; p < 0.0001), with a specificity of 89.06% and a positive predictive value of 81.10%. CONCLUSIONS:PGRN may be used as a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of EOS, and the combined use of PGRN and PCT could improve the diagnosis of sepsis.
Authors: Michael Paul Corr; Derek Fairley; James P McKenna; Michael D Shields; Thomas Waterfield Journal: BMC Pediatr Date: 2022-04-04 Impact factor: 2.125