Table 4

Diagnostic accuracy of serum PCT for the diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill patients with either primary or secondary BSI-related sepsis.

PCT cutoff value (ng/mL)
Sepsis type
Sensitivity (%)
Specificity (%)
Positive predictive value (%)
Negative predictive value (%)

PCT ≥ 0.25
Primary
98.3
47.8
90.5
84.6

Secondary
90.3
47.8
82.3
64.7

PCT ≥ 0.50
Primary
94.9
65.2
93.3
71.4

Secondary
83.9
65.2
86.7
60.0

PCT ≥ 1.00
Primary
89.7
73.9
94.6
58.6

Secondary
72.6
73.9
88.2
50.0

PCT ≥ 2.00
Primary
83.8
82.6
96.1
50.0

Secondary
58.1
82.6
90.0
42.2

PCT: procalcitonin; BSI: blood stream infection.

Charles et al. BMC Infectious Diseases 2008 8:163   doi:10.1186/1471-2334-8-163