ДИАГНОСТИЧЕСКАЯ ЦЕННОСТЬ ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ УРОВНЯ ПРОКАЛЬЦИТОНИНА В ПРАКТИКЕ ИНФЕКЦИОНИСТА

Abstract

Considering the colossal frequency of infectious diseases among children, pediatricians face the task not only to cure the patient but also to do this as soon as possible with an individual approach to each child. One of the main aspects of diagnosis in febrile children is the differentiation  of a bacterial infection from viral one in order  to assign timely antibiotic therapy to one patient and to prevent excessive assignment to others. In addition, an important point is to identify the category of patients with a severe bacterial infection, which requires  the most  attention.  The article reveals  the main points  of a differential  diagnosis  of bacterial  and viral infections, considering clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters: the concentration of procalcitonin, C-reactive  protein, and leukocytes. The limits of procalcitonin values for various nosological forms and the possibility of their use in terms of the appointment, continuation or replacement of antibacterial therapy in pediatric practice are described.