Use of procalcitonin and neutrophil CD64 as markers of postoperative infection

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate if it was possible to differentiate between inflammation due to surgical trauma and a postoperative infection using procalsitonin (PCT) and neutrophil CD64 compared to traditional biomarkers of infection. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients, admitted to the Department of gastroenterological surgery, Akershus University Hospital for elective bowel surgery, were included in the study. Venous blood samples analysed for CRP, ESR, leukocytes, neutrophil CD64 and PCT were taken preoperatively and on five consecutive days postoperatively. The patients were divided into three groups: normal postoperative course, clinical signs of infection and non-specific complications. The results from the last group are not presented here. Results: All biomarkers were affected by the surgical intervention. Higher values were found in patients with infection, but for PCT the values were not significantly different from patients with a normal postoperative course. For neutrophil CD64 the difference between the two groups was significant from day 3 and for CRP from day 1. The PCT concentration after surgery shows a tendency to correlate with the extent of the surgical trauma. Conclusion: This study indicates that CRP is a better marker for early detection of local postoperative infections than PCT and neutrophil CD64. A larger study is needed to verify these results.

Keywords

• inflammation
• postoperative complication
• biomarker of infection
• fcγri