Serum lactate and procalcitonin measurements in emergency room for the diagnosis and risk-stratification of patients with suspected infection

OBJECTIVE: To study the contribution of lactate and procalcitonin (PCT) serum measurements for the diagnosis and the risk-stratification of patients with suspected infection presenting to the ED. METHODS: Single-center one year observational study on 462 consecutive patients. Multivariate analysis to assess variables associated with sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock and severe outcome. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis (Odds ratio [95% CI]), showed that PCT was the best independent variable to identify sepsis (3.98 [2.60-6.10]), while lactate was the best to diagnose severe sepsis (10.88 [6.51-18.19]). Patients with both lactate above 2 mmol·L(-1) and PCT above 0.8 ng·mL(-1) had an enhanced risk of severe outcome. CONCLUSIONS: the dosages of lactate and PCT are complementary for the diagnosis and risk-stratification of patients evaluated in the ED for suspected infection.