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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2009, p. 2964-2969, Vol. 47, No. 9
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00418-07
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Prospective Comparison of Eubacterial PCR and Measurement of Procalcitonin Levels with Blood Culture for Diagnosing Septicemia in Intensive Care Unit Patients{triangledown}

Farjana B. Rowther,1 Camilla S. Rodrigues,2* Minal S. Deshmukh,1,2 Farhad N. Kapadia,3 Ashit Hegde,3 Ajita P. Mehta,2 and Vinay R. Joshi4

Research Laboratories,1 Department of Microbiology,2 Department of Intensive Care Medicine,3 Department of Medicine, P. D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Center, Mahim, Mumbai 400016, India4

Received 22 February 2007/ Returned for modification 26 June 2007/ Accepted 13 July 2009

Rapid identification of infection has a major impact on the clinical course, management, and outcome of critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We compared the results of PCR and procalcitonin with blood culture for ICU patients suspected of having septicemia. Ninety patients (60 patients meeting the criteria for sepsis and 30 patients not meeting the criteria for sepsis) were evaluated. Compared with blood culture as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for PCR were 100%, 43.33%, 46.87%, and 100%, respectively, and for procalcitonin were 100%, 61.66%, 56.6%, and 100%, respectively. The average times required to produce a final result were as follows: PCR, 10 h; blood culture, 33 h; procalcitonin, 45 min. Both PCR and procalcitonin may be useful as rapid tests for detecting septicemia but compared with blood cultures lacked specificity.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: P. D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Center, Mahim, Mumbai 400016, India. Phone: 91 22 24451515. Fax: 91 22 24440425. E-mail: dr_crodrigues{at}hindujahospital.com

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 29 July 2009.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2009, p. 2964-2969, Vol. 47, No. 9
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00418-07
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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