Figure 2

Pentraxin 3 as an early marker of pneumonia. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC^ROC) analysis showed that Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALf) levels predicted pneumonia (AUC^ROC =0.815, 95% CI =0.710 to 0.921, P <0.0001), but that BALf levels of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (s-TREM-1), plasma PTX3, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) levels did not. A cutoff of PTX3 levels ≥1 ng/ml in BAL fluid (identified by Youden index) was associated with 92% sensitivity, 60% specificity, 49% positive predictive value and 95% negative predictive value for culture-positive pneumonia.