The interest of inflammatory biomarkers in the diagnostic approach

Background: The role of inflammatory biomarkers in the etiological orientation is increasingly under study, and their potential significance is recognized.
Methods: Procalcitonin (PCT), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive-protein (CRP), fibrinogen, ferritinaemia and lactate were measured on admission in all patients. The optimal cut-off values for the sensitivities and specificities to the infectious diseases were determined using the receiver operating curve(ROC) analysis and Youden's index. The diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers and their combinations for predicting infectious etiologies was calculated by area under the curve(AUC).
Results: A total of 164 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 50.7 ± 18 years [18 – 92 years]. Fifty-three patients (32.3%) were over 65 years old. Patients were split into four groups: 53 patients (32.3%) with infectious diseases of which 45 patients (84.9%) presented bacterial infections, 62 patients (37.8%) with inflammatory dis...