The Role of Procalcitonin in the Early Differential Diagnosis of COVID-19 in Children
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7130644Keywords:
COVID-19, procalcitonin, disease severity, childAbstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) coronavirus 2 infection, which caused coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), resulted in a pandemic with widespread effects on human activities. It is important to estimate the severity of COVID-19, and a range of biomarkers can be used to assess it. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate serum procalcitonin (PCT) level as a biomarker of disease severity in the early differential diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children. Estimating the severity of COVID-19 is important and a variety of biomarkers can be used to assess this. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate serum procalcitonin (PCT) level as a biomarker in the early differential diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children. A total of 32 pediatric patients, aged 0-18 years, who were confirmed to have COVID-19 in the laboratory of the K. Farajova Scientific Research Pediatrics Institute between October 10, 2021 and January 28, 2022, were included in the study. Of the total individuals, 19 (59.4%) were male and 13 (40.6%) were female. In this study, a total of 32 SARS-CoV-2 infected patients were analyzed, including 25 moderate COVID-19 patients, 5 severe COVID-19 patients, and 2 critical COVID-19 patients. A high PCT value (≥ 0.5 ng/mL) was found in 10 of the moderate Covid-19 patients, 3 of the severe Covid-19 patients, and both of the critical Covid-19 patients. The results showed that mean serum PCT levels were approximately five times higher in severe patients than in moderate patients and approximately twelve times higher in critically ill patients than in moderate patients. When age groups and PCT levels of patients with COVID-19 were compared, the high PCT level was detected at a higher rate (46.6%) in the 6-11 age group, and the difference was statistically significant. In conclusion, we show that the PCT can be an indicator of disease severity in COVID-19 and contribute to determining the severity of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
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