Role of presepsin compared to C-reactive protein in sepsis diagnosis and prognostication

Early identification of sepsis and its differentiation from non-infective SIRS are important for sepsis outcome. We intended to evaluate the use of presepsin in differentiating sepsis from noninfectious SIRS and its prognostic value compared to CRP. We included 31 patients (median age 60 year old, 16 males) admitted with SIRS to El-Sahel Teaching Hospital, Egypt after excluding 21 patients with preadmission corticosteroids therapy, blood transfusion, immunosuppressive illness, and ICU length of stay (ICU-LOS) less than 24-hours. Patients were classified into non-infective SIRS group (13 patients) and sepsis group (18 patients). Presepsin, CRP and SOFA score were measured on admission and on days 2 and 4 of admission. The outcome parameters studied were ICU-LOS and in-hospital survival. Apart from temperature and AST which were significantly higher in sepsis group, the two groups were comparable. All the presepsin levels and CRP on days 2 and 4 were significantly higher in sepsis than in SIRS groups. The ICU-LOS was positively correlated with all the presepsin levels and with the CRP levels on days 2 and 4. All presepsin values were significantly higher in survivors while none of the CRP levels were significantly different in survivors and non-survivors. The decrease of presepsin over time was significantly associated with better survival. It was found to be 70% sensitive and 91% specific for predicting survival in SIRS patients. This relation was not found in CRP levels. We concluded that the presepsin can be used for early differentiation between sepsis and non-infectious SIRS and predict higher mortality.