Procalcitonin as a Prognostic Factor in Acute Cholangitis

Procalcitonin use in Acute Cholangitis

Abstract

Aim: In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of procalcitonin levels at admission in predicting disease severity and early biliary drainage in patients admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of acute cholangitis.

Material and Method: The data of the patients who were treated in our clinic and whose procalcitonin level was studied within the first 24 hours were analyzed retrospectively. Tokyo criteria were used to evaluate the diagnosis of cholangitis. Within the scope of the study, 384 patients were evaluated.

Results: The median age of the patients was 69, and 215 (56%) of them were men. Biliary calculi were the most common predisposing factor. Of these, 170 (44.3%) were grade 1, 102 (26.5%) were grade 2 and 112 (29.2%) were grade 3. The median drainage time was 48 hours. At least one comorbidity was seen in 81.3% (312 patients).    Procalcitonin, white blood cell and C-reactive protein median values were 2.3 ng/ml (0.01-301.9), 11.6x10⁹/L (2410-55790) and 87.6 mg/L (3.4-413.2), respectively. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of procalcitonin levels.

Conclusions: As a result of the analysis performed in our study, a strong correlation was found between procalcitonin level and disease severity and it was shown that serum procalcitonin level increased as the disease became more severe.