Procalcitonin versus C-reactive protein and immature-to-total neutrophil ratio as markers of infection after cardiopulmonary bypass in children

Abstract

Objective: To document concentrations of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and immature-to-total neutrophil ratio (ITR), postcardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and to test the hypothesis that PCT is a more reliable marker of infection than CRP or ITR in the post-CPB child. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Pediatric intensive care units at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia and Birmingham Children's Hospital, UK. Patients: First stage: 283 post-CPB children; second stage: 65 post-CPB children with suspected infection. Interventions: In the first stage, PCT, ITR, and CRP were measured serially on the first, second, third, and fifth postoperative day (POD). In the..