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Procalcitonin correlates with C-reactive protein as an acute-phase reactant in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND
Previous reports on the behavior of procalcitonin blood levels in diverse clinical conditions suggest that it is part of the activation of cellular immunity and is another acute-phase reactant.


OBJECTIVE
To compare procalcitonin with C-reactive protein, a well-known acute-phase reactant, in a series of acutely febrile pediatric patients and to review recent literature on procalcitonin.


METHODS
Procalcitonin and CRP levels were evaluated in 38 blood samples of pediatric patients who were admitted to the Dana Children's Hospital for evaluation of unexplained fever or for sepsis work-up.


RESULTS
The parallelism between procalcitonin and CRP was found to be highly significant (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSION
The rise of procalcitonin blood levels in febrile pediatric patients suggests that it is part of the acute-phase reaction, parallel with the CRP reaction.