Procalcitonin and Other Common Biomarkers Do Not Reliably Identify Patients at Risk for Bacterial Infection after Congenital Heart Surgery


D'Souza, S, Guhadasan, R, Jennings, R, Siner, S, Paulus, S ORCID: 0000-0002-0703-9114, Thorburn, K, Chesters, C, Downey, C, Baines, P, Lane, S et al (show 1 more authors) (2019) Procalcitonin and Other Common Biomarkers Do Not Reliably Identify Patients at Risk for Bacterial Infection after Congenital Heart Surgery Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 20 (3). pp. 243-251. ISSN 1529-7535, 1947-3893

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Abstract

Objectives: Following surgery, it is difficult to distinguish a postoperative inflammatory reaction from infection. This study examined the predictive value of the biomarkers; procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, lactate, neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, and the biphasic activated partial thromboplastin time waveform in diagnosing bacterial infection following cardiac surgery. Design: Prospective, observational study. Setting: A regional, PICU in the United Kingdom. Patients: Three-hundred sixty-eight children under the age of 16 admitted to the PICU for elective cardiac surgery were enrolled in the study. Interventions: All biomarker measurements were determined daily until postoperative day 7. Children were assessed for postoperative infection until day 28 and divided into four groups: bacterial infection, culture-negative sepsis, viral infection, and no infection. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square test, analysis of variance, and area under the curve in our analysis. Measurements and Main Results: In total, 71 of 368 children (19%) developed bacterial infection postoperatively, the majority being surgical site infections. In those with bacterial infection, procalcitonin was elevated on postoperative days 1-3 and the last measurement prior to event compared with those without bacterial infection. The most significant difference was the last measurement prior to event; 0.72 ng/mL in the bacterial infection group versus 0.13 ng/mL in the no infection group (for all groups; p < 0.001). Longitudinal profiles of all biomarkers were indistinct in the bacterial infection and nonbacterial infection groups except in those with culture-negative infections who had distinct procalcitonin kinetics on postoperative days 1-4. Children with culture-negative sepsis required longer ventilatory support and PICU stay and were more likely to develop complications than the other groups. Conclusions: None of the biomarkers studied within 3 days of infection distinguished between infection and postoperative inflammatory reaction. However, procalcitonin kinetics peaked on postoperative day 2 and fell more sharply than C-reactive protein kinetics, which peaked at postoperative day 3. The monitoring of procalcitonin kinetics following cardiac surgery may help guide rational antimicrobial use.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: cardiac surgery, congenital heart disease, intensive care, postoperative infection, procalcitonin, sepsis
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 04 Dec 2018 08:33
Last Modified: 01 Mar 2026 08:25
DOI: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000001826
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3029466
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