Usefulness of procalcitonin for diagnosing infection in critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis

Objective To evaluate the usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) for diagnosing infection in patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to an Intensive Care Unit. Design A retrospective study was carried out. Scope Intensive Care Unit. Versatile, twenty-four beds. Participants Patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to our Intensive Care Unit in the last 4 years with suspected infection and measurement of PCT. Results Among the 255 patients with cirrhosis admitted to our unit, PCT was determined for the differential diagnosis of infection in 69 cases (27%). Three patients were excluded from analysis due to a lack of clinical data. The average stay was 10.6 ± 9.2 days, with a mortality rate of 65%. The origin of cirrhosis was mainly viral (57%) or alcoholic (37%). The Child–Pugh and MELD scores were 9.5 ± 2 and 23 ± 8, respectively. Infection was diagnosed in 54 patients (82%). The most common infection was pneumonia (72%), followed by intraabdominal infections (18%) and bacteremia (5%). In patients without infection, the median PCT concentration was 0.57 ng/ml (range 0.28–1.14) versus 2.99 (1.31–9.4) in those with infection (p Conclusions In patients with liver cirrhosis, PCT is useful for identifying bacterial infections, including intraabdominal processes.