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How to use PCT LIA for clinical decision making?

The B·R·A·H·M·S PCT LIA is intended for use in conjunction with other laboratory findings and clinical assessments to aid in the risk assessment of critically ill patients on their first day of ICU admission for progression to severe sepsis and septic shock.

PCT levels > 2.0 ng/ml on the first day of ICU admission represent a high risk for progression to severe sepsis and/or septic shock.

PCT levels < 0.5 ng/ml on the first day of ICU admission represent a low risk for progression to severe sepsis and/or septic shock.

PCT levels below 0.5 ng/ml do not exclude an infection, because localized infections (without systemic signs) may also be associated with such low levels. If the PCT measurement is done very early after the systemic infection process has started (usually < 6 hours), these values may still be low.

As various non-infectious conditions are known to induce PCT as well, PCT levels between 0.5 ng/ml and 2.0 ng/ml should be reviewed carefully to take into account the specific clinical background and condition(s) of the individual patient.

PCT should always be interpreted in the clinical context of the patient. Therefore, clinicians should use the PCT results in conjunction with other laboratory findings and clinical signs of the patient. Please review the PCT LIA instruction manual for further details.

In normal subjects, PCT concentrations are < 0.3 ng/ml, thus below the detection limit of the assay.

The clinical data for the B·R·A·H·M·S PCT LIA were obtained from a total of 179 patients in two independent, controlled prospective studies performed in ICUs of academic hospital settings (see instruction manual for further details). The data from the two studies have been pooled and re-evaluated using the cut-offs recommended by B·R·A·H·M·S. In 44 patients with a PCT level < 0.5 ng/ml, no patient had severe sepsis or septic shock. In 77 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, only one (1) had a PCT level = 2.0 ng/ml. The 4 box and whisker diagrams below summarize the individual PCT results of the 4 subgroups of patients on the first day of ICU admission.

B·R·A·H·M·S PCT LIA is intended for use to aid in the risk assessment of critically ill patients on their first day of ICU admission for progression to severe sepsis or septic shock. Localized infections and the first hours of generalized sepsis cannot be detected with the B·R·A·H·M·S PCT LIA assay format. More sensitive assay formats are available for investigational use only. Please contact us for more information.