Point of Care - Clinical decision support for Procalcitonin . Treatment and management. Introduction, Pathophysiology, Specimen Requirements and Procedure, Diagnostic Tests, Testing Procedures, Interfering Factors, Results, Reporting, and Critical Findings , Clinical Significance, Quality Control and Lab Safety , Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes In current clinical practice, procalcitonin (PCT) has developed into a promising new biomarker for the early detection of systemic bacterial infections. PCT is a 116-amino acid residue first explained by Le Moullec et al. in 1984; its diagnostic significance was not recognized until 1993.[1] In 1993, Assicot et al. demonstrated a positive correlation between high serum levels of PCT and patients with positive findings for bacterial infection and sepsis (e.g., positive blood cultures ... Procalcitonin is an early, sensitive, specific marker of bacterial infections. PCT is a polypeptide pro-hormone of calcitonin, a hormone synthesized by thyroid cells and involved in calcium homeostasis. A procalcitonin test measures the level of procalcitonin in your blood. A high level may be a sign of sepsis, a life-threatening condition. Learn more.
