Purpose: To assess the predictive value of procalcitonin (PCT) in the risk of sepsis in patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Methods: A total of 373 inpatients with stage 5 CKD were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into non-infection group, local infection group, and sepsis group. The clinical characteristics and inflammatory parameters including PCT, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), and neutrophil percentage (NEU%) were compared and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to predict sepsis were plotted. Related risk factors of sepsis were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.
Results: (1) The hemodialysis ratio of sepsis group was the highest at 92.3%. PCT, CRP, and NEU% were significantly different among the three subgroups (P < 0.05 for all). Total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in sepsis group were significantly lower than that in local infection group (P < 0.05 for both). (2) CRP and WBC were unable to predict sepsis (P > 0.05 for all), while PCT and NEU% could predict sepsis with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.838 and 0.691, respectively (P < 0.05 for all). (3) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that PCT > 1.650 ng/mL was a risk factor (OR = 6.926, P = 0.002) while LDL was probably a protective factor (OR = 0.336, P = 0.040) of sepsis in patients with stage 5 CKD.
Conclusions: At stage 5 CKD, the predictive value of PCT for sepsis is best among inflammatory markers, and PCT and LDL levels are independent factors of sepsis.
Keywords: Chronic kidney disease; Low density lipoprotein; Procalcitonin; Risk factors; Sepsis.