Performance of plasma calprotectin as a biomarker of early sepsis: a pilot study

Biomark Med. 2016 Aug;10(8):811-8. doi: 10.2217/bmm-2016-0032. Epub 2016 Jul 14.

Abstract

Aim: To determine the performance of plasma calprotectin as a marker of sepsis on intensive care unit (ICU) admission and as a marker of mortality day 30 post-ICU admission.

Materials & methods: Consecutive ICU patients were allocated to: sepsis (n = 15), postoperative inflammation (n = 23) and intoxication without inflammation (n = 7) groups.

Results: Calprotectin was 4.3 (2.6-8.2; mg/l; median [interquartile range]) in the sepsis, 2.8 (1.6-4.4) in the postoperative and 0.7 (0.4-1.6) in the intoxication groups. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for sepsis versus intoxication group was: 0.95, for sepsis versus postoperative groups: 0.65 and for survivors versus nonsurvivors: 0.70.

Conclusion: Calprotectin was a sensitive marker of systemic inflammation, is a potential sepsis marker and performed well as mortality predictor in this pilot study.

Keywords: calprotectin; sepsis; systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Area Under Curve
  • Biomarkers / blood*
  • C-Reactive Protein / analysis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intensive Care Units
  • Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / blood*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pilot Projects
  • Postoperative Period
  • ROC Curve
  • Sepsis / diagnosis*
  • Sepsis / mortality
  • Survival Rate

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex
  • C-Reactive Protein