Procalcitonin (PCT) is useful marker to assess the risk of seriously ill patients developing a systemic bacterial infection such as sepsis. Emergency medicine or ICU may use PCT to confirm suspected cases and also monitor the response to antimicrobial treatment. PCT may be ordered along with hs-CRP and other diagnostics to distinguish between viral and bacteria meningitis and detect/ rule out bacterial pneumonia in the seriously ill and in children with a fever of unknown origin. It may also be used in tissue dmange due to trauma or surgery or viral illness to detect development of secondary bacterial infections.
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