Hügle T et al. – Procalcitonin (PCT) seems to be a highly sensitive and specific marker for septic arthritis, depending on the clinical setting. Further studies are warranted. Methods
Study to investigate the diagnostic value of PCT in pts with septic and non-septic arthritis using a novel test with low detection limit
42 pts, 28 with non-septic and 14 with septic arthritis were prospectively included
For each patient, gram stain, culture and polarization microscopy of synovial fluid was done
PCT, CRP, white blood cell count, uric acid and blood cultures were taken
Pts with septic arthritis, with non-septic arthritis with and w/o concomitant infection were compared
Results
Pts with septic arthritis had a higher PCT concn than pts with non-septic arthritis
At a cut-off of 0.1 (0.25) ng/ml, sensitivity for septic arthritis was 100(93)% and specificity 46(75)%
Specificity rose to 93% after exclusion of pts with non-septic arthritis and concomitant infection
Both sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of septic arthritis were higher for PCT than CRP
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