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Markers of bacteremia in febrile neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies: procalcitonin and IL-6 are more reliable than C-reactive protein

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Abstract

Since neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies are at high risk of contracting life-threatening infections, specific markers of infection are needed in cases of febrile neutropenia. The study presented here assessed serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in samples obtained from 31 febrile neutropenic patients. A total of 53 episodes were evaluated, and 18 of these were associated with positive blood culture results. Procalcitonin and IL-6 concentrations differed significantly between bacteremic and non-bacteremic episodes. Procalcitonin values were 0.22 ng/ml [interquartile range (IR), 0.15–1.9] for patients with pneumonia without bacteremia, 0.22 ng/ml (IR, 0.16–0.55) for patients with fever of unknown origin, 0.2 ng/ml (IR, 0.13–0.57) for patients with non-microbial fever and 1.8 ng/ml (IR, 0.35–5.3) for patients with bacteremia. The differences between bacteremic and non-bacteremic episodes had a P-value of 0.003 using the Mann–Whitney test. For IL-6 the median values were 301 pg/ml (IR, 152–1,879) for patients with pneumonia without bacteremia, 207 pg/ml (IR, 94–445) for patients with fever of unknown origin, 177 pg/ml (IR, 142–208) for patients with non-microbial fever and 942 pg/ml (IR, 181–2,807) for patients with bacteremia. Using the Mann–Whitney test, the differences between bacteremic and non-bacteremic episodes were P=0.006. No differences were found in CRP concentrations. Cutoff levels to distinguish between bacteremic and non-bacteremic episodes were chosen using receiver operating characteristic curves: 0.62 ng/ml for PCT and 297 pg/ml for IL-6. Negative predictive values were 84% for PCT and 70% for IL-6. The results indicate that PCT and IL-6 are more reliable markers than CRP for predicting bacteremia in patients with febrile neutropenia.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from GlaxoSmithKline, Munich, Germany, and from the Leukämie-Initiative Bonn, Germany.

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Correspondence to M. von Lilienfeld-Toal.

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von Lilienfeld-Toal, M., Dietrich, M.P., Glasmacher, A. et al. Markers of bacteremia in febrile neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies: procalcitonin and IL-6 are more reliable than C-reactive protein. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 23, 539–544 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-004-1156-y

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