Procalcitonin: Inflammatory Biomarker for Assessing the Severity of Community-Acquired Pneumonia – A Clinical Observation in Geriatric Patients

Language
en
Document Type
Article
Issue Date
2013-03-15
Issue Year
2009
Authors
Heppner, Hans-Jürgen
Bertsch, Thomas
Alber, B.
Esslinger, A. Susanne
Dragonas, Charalampos
Bauer, Jürgen M.
Sieber, Cornel C.
Editor
Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia is a common disease of the elderly and involves a high mortality risk. Demographic developments are creating new challenges for acute medical treatment strategies in geriatric patients with their underlying multimorbidity. In addition to the diagnostic parameters recorded on hospital admission, such as white cell count and C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, more than the risk scores CRB- and CURB-65 evaluated to date, appears to be a promising parameter for assessing the severity of pneumonia in elderly patients to allow early detection of severe courses and initiation of suitable treatment. The decisive factor is the dynamic course of the procalcitonin values over 3 consecutive days, as demonstrated in this case series.

Journal Title
Gerontology 2010; 56: 385-389. <http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?typ=pdf&doi=262285> © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel
Citation
Gerontology 2010; 56: 385-389. <http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?typ=pdf&doi=262285> © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel
DOI
Document's Licence
Zugehörige ORCIDs