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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2008;33:777-780. doi:10.1016/j.ejcts.2008.02.013
Copyright © 2008, European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier. All rights reserved.
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Giovanni L. Carboni
Ralph Alexander Schmid
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Comparison of procalcitonin and CrP in the postoperative course after lung decortication

Giovanni L. Carbonia, Rene Fahrnera, Amiq Gazdhara, Gert Printzenb, Ralph Alexander Schmida,*, Beatrix Hokscha

a Division of General Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital Berne, 3010 Berne, Switzerland
b Institute for Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital Berne, 3010 Berne, Switzerland

Received 30 August 2007; received in revised form 4 February 2008; accepted 6 February 2008.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 31 6323096; fax: +41 31 6322327. (Email: beatrix.hoksch{at}insel.ch).

Objective: The objective of this prospective study was to compare the clinical value of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CrP) plasma concentrations in their postoperative course after decortication. Methods: Twenty-two patients requiring surgery for pleural empyema were chosen for this prospective study. Routine blood samples including CrP and PCT plasma concentrations were taken before the operation and on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th postoperative day. Results: Due to infection PCT and CrP were elevated preoperatively. In the postoperative course both PCT and CrP reached peak-levels on day 2 with values up to 43.55 ng/ml and 384.00 mg/l, respectively. In PCT the rise was followed by a clear decrease in 20 (90.9 %) patients until day 7. In contrast the CrP levels decreased slowly and only seven (54.5%) patients had values of 100 mg/l or below on day 7. PCT showed a better correlation with the clinic in case of septic course than CrP does. Conclusions: PCT reflects postoperative clinical course more accurately than CrP. Therefore, PCT is a more appropriate laboratory parameter to monitor patients after surgery for pleural empyema.

Key Words: Pleural empyema • PCT • CRP






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Copyright © 2008 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier. All rights reserved.