Diagnostic value of the serum levels of procalcitonin and high sensitivity C reactive protein, and white blood cell count in early childhood infection

ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of the serum levels of procalcitonin(PCT) and high sensitivity C reactive protein(hs-CRP) and white blood cell count(WBC) in early childhood infection.

MethodsOne hundred and sixty children with infectious diseases from March 2017 to March 2018 were divided into the virus group(75 cases) and bacterial group(85 cases) according to the infection pathogen, and 60 healthy children were set as the healthy control group.The serum levels of PCT, hs-CRP and WBC were measured and compared among three groups, and the sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves of three indexes were calculated and plotted.

ResultsThe differences of the serum levels of PCT and hs-CRP, and WBC value among three groups were statistically significant(P < 0.05).The serum levels of PCT and hs-CRP, and WBC in bacteria group were significantly higher than those in virus group and healthy control group, and the serum levels of PCT and hs-CRP, and WBC in viral group were significantly higher than those in healthy control group(P < 0.01).When the PCT was used to diagnose the bacterial infections, the area under the ROC curve of PCT, sensitivity and specificity were 1, 100% and 100%, respectively, and which was greater than whose of hs-CRP and WBC.

ConclusionsThe serum levels of PCT and hs-CRP, and WBC have certain diagnostic value in early bacterial infection in children.Moreover, the sensitivity and specificity of PCT are higher, and the diagnostic value of PCT is better than that of hs-CRP and WBC.