Serum procalcitonin level as predictor value for early diagnosis of infective endocarditis

Background: Infective endocarditis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adolescents despite advances in the management and prophylaxis of the disease with antimicrobial agents. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) level in infective endocarditis (IE) and to correlate it with the etiology of the disease. Patients and methods: This study was carried out at Cardiology Unit, Pediatric Department, Zagazig University Hosiptals to find out the predictive value of procalcitonin level in early diagnosis of infective endocarditis. The study was conducted on 50 patients suspected to have infective endocarditis. The studied patients were subjected to the following: Full history taking especially history of rheumatic heart disease, congenital heat disease or previous history of infective endocarditis, thorough clinical examination including new valvular regurgitation or changing of the already present murmur, laboratory investigations including CBC, ESR, CRP, blood culture and serum procalcitonin level and radiological examinations including chest X-ray and echocardiography. At the end of the study, the studied patients were classified according to modified Ducke’s criteria into 2 groups: Group I: Infective endocarditis patients including 19 patients. Group II: Non-infective endocarditis patients .