The Role of Serum Procalcitonin in The Diagnosis and Detection of The Outcome of Acute Bacterial Meningitis in Children

Abstract

Background: Bacterial meningitis is a pediatric emergency that requires quick diagnosis and treatment due to its high death and morbidity rates. Clinically, bacterial meningitis and non-bacterial meningitis are frequently difficult to distinguish from each other. Aim of work: To study the role of serum procalcitonin in the diagnosis and differentiation of acute bacterial from non-bacterial reasons for meningitis, in addition to its role in the evaluation of the acute bacterial meningitis outcome. Patients and Methods: This was a case-control hospital-based prospective study carried out at the Pediatric Department, Sohag University Hospital, and fever hospitals all over Sohag Governorate for 8 months, after obtaining ethical approval. Serum procalcitonin level for cases with bacterial meningitis and controls with non-bacterial meningitis was detected by Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and immunoassay device. All participants were followed clinically and by neuroimaging 2 months after the infection. Results: There was a significant increase in CRP level among cases in comparison to controls but as regards the PCT level among cases and controls, there was no significant difference between them and there was a statistically significant positive correlation between CRP and serum procalcitonin. There was a poor outcome among cases with a significant difference in comparison to controls with a significant correlation between cases outcome and serum procalcitonin. Conclusion: Serum procalcitonin levels had no significant associations with acute bacterial meningitis and had an important role in predicting its outcome but this should be confirmed by larger and more comprehensive studies.