Correlation and Assessment of Cost-Effectivity of Simultaneous PCT and CRP Measurements for Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia and COPD Inflamation

Objective: Bacterial infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality. Serum procalcitonin and C-reactive protein are significant indicators during the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of systemic inflammations and bacterial infections. In this study, correlation between levels of procalcitonin, which has recently become commonly used in infection cases, and C-reactive protein, the conventional indicator, were investigated for patients whose final diagnoses were found as pneumonia and/or COPD inflammation. Additionally, the study aimed to determine which among the two indicators was cost-effective for the diagnosis and management of lower respiratory infections. Material and Methods: Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein results of 4712 samples, which were gathered from 1948 patients and measured simultaneously were assessed. Among the samples, 499 (10.6%) were from COPD inflammation patients (Group I), 1480 (31.4%) were from pneumonia patients (Group II), and the remaining 2733 (58%) were from COPD inflammation and pneumonia patients (Group III). Results: A strong positive correlation was detected between C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels (rho=0.512, p<0.001). As for the assessments within the established groups I, II and III, again a strong positive correlation was seen (rho=0.539, p<0.001; rho=0.509, p<0.001; rho=0.511, p<0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Procalcitonine was found to be positively correlated to C-reactive protein and it was suggested that procalcitonine could be used instead of the costly C reactive protein during long-term infection care