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suPAR as a prognostic biomarker in sepsis
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* Corresponding author: Jean-Louis Vincent jlvincen@ulb.ac.be
Department of Intensive Care, Erasme University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, route de Lennik 1070, Brussels, Belgium
BMC Medicine 2012, 10:2 doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-2
Published: 5 January 2012Abstract
Sepsis is the clinical syndrome derived from the host response to an infection and severe sepsis is the leading cause of death in critically ill patients. Several biomarkers have been tested for use in diagnosis and prognostication in patients with sepsis. Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels are increased in various infectious diseases, in the blood and also in other tissues. However, the diagnostic value of suPAR in sepsis has not been well defined, especially compared to other more established biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT). On the other hand, suPAR levels have been shown to predict outcome in various kinds of bacteremia and recent data suggest they may have predictive value, similar to that of severity scores, in critically ill patients. This narrative review provides a descriptive overview of the clinical value of this biomarker in the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guidance of sepsis.