Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study

Ambika Debbarma; Neha Karar; Prativa Biswas; Dipanjan Halder; Sudipta Banerjee; Moumita Pati; Dipanwita Mukhopadhyay; Esha Mukhopadhyay

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

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Online Published: 27 Jun 2024

Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2024; 14(10): 2140-2146

doi: 10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study

Ambika Debbarma, Neha Karar, Prativa Biswas, Dipanjan Halder, Sudipta Banerjee, Moumita Pati, Dipanwita Mukhopadhyay, Esha Mukhopadhyay.

Abstract
Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in children under 5 years of age. Early diagnosis and effective management remain the cornerstone to reduce complications and fatalities associated with CAP. Lately, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) have gained much attention as useful biomarkers in CAP. Recent data suggest that a very low PCT value has a high negative predictive value while identifying a population of children at low risk of typical bacterial infections. Hence, we propose to take up this study to assess the clinical utility of PCT in pediatric CAP.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to study serum PCT level in children with the clinical diagnosis of CAP admitted at R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, and its role in severity identification and contribution in the treatment of CAP.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based observational study was performed from January 2020 to June 2021 in the R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. A total of 50 children were included within the age group of 2 months–5 years with CAP admitted in the Children’s ward and intensive care unit at our hospital. Clinical characteristics such as age, sex, symptoms such as history of fever, difficulty feeding or drinking, convulsion, lethargy, cyanosis, chest in-drawing, respiratory rates, auscultatory findings such as air entry of bilateral lungs, added sounds like-(inspiratory crept, bronchial breathing), and oxygen saturation were studied. Routine investigations such as complete blood count, serum CRP, blood culture, and chest radiograph sent along with serum PCT.

Results: Out of 50 children diagnosed with CAP, 30 (60%) fell within the age range of 2–5 months of age. Among the study population, 70% of children displayed weakly positive and 20% strongly positive serum PCT values. A strong correlation (P < 0.001) was revealed between the severity of pneumonia and PCT, and also a positive correlation (P < 0.001) between clinical outcome and PCT. However, the role in contribution in early diagnosis could not be concluded.

Conclusion: This study concluded that serum PCT may be used as a valuable indicator for assessing the severity and prognosis of CAP. All children with elevated PCT who were prescribed antibiotics did not experience further complications of CAP.

Key words: Pneumonia; Community-acquired Pneumonia; Procalcitonin; C-Reactive Protein

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Pubmed Style

Debbarma A, Karar N, Biswas P, Halder D, Banerjee S, Pati M, Mukhopadhyay D, Mukhopadhyay E. Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2024; 14(10): 2140-2146.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

Web Style

Debbarma A, Karar N, Biswas P, Halder D, Banerjee S, Pati M, Mukhopadhyay D, Mukhopadhyay E. Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study. https://www.njppp.com/?mno=204755 [Access: June 26, 2026].

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Debbarma A, Karar N, Biswas P, Halder D, Banerjee S, Pati M, Mukhopadhyay D, Mukhopadhyay E. Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2024; 14(10): 2140-2146.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Debbarma A, Karar N, Biswas P, Halder D, Banerjee S, Pati M, Mukhopadhyay D, Mukhopadhyay E. Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. (2024), [cited June 26, 2026]; 14(10): 2140-2146.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

Harvard Style

Debbarma, A., Karar, . N., Biswas, . P., Halder, . D., Banerjee, . S., Pati, . M., Mukhopadhyay, . D. & Mukhopadhyay, . E. (2024) Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol, 14 (10), 2140-2146.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

Turabian Style

Debbarma, Ambika, Neha Karar, Prativa Biswas, Dipanjan Halder, Sudipta Banerjee, Moumita Pati, Dipanwita Mukhopadhyay, and Esha Mukhopadhyay. 2024. Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 14 (10), 2140-2146.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

Chicago Style

Debbarma, Ambika, Neha Karar, Prativa Biswas, Dipanjan Halder, Sudipta Banerjee, Moumita Pati, Dipanwita Mukhopadhyay, and Esha Mukhopadhyay. "Can serum procalcitonin be used for severity identification and guiding treatment of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia? – A cross-sectional study." National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 14 (2024), 2140-2146.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

doi:10.5455/njppp.2024.14.06242202416062024

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