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Table 4 Procalcitonin cutoffs (0.5 and 2.0 μg/L) for risk prediction in different clinical settings and in various acute respiratory infection subgroupsa

From: Prognostic value of procalcitonin in respiratory tract infections across clinical settings

Cutoff (μg/L)

0.5 μg/L

2.0 μg/L

 

Sensitivity (%)

Specificity (%)

PPV (%)

NPV (%)

Sensitivity (%)

Specificity (%)

PPV (%)

NPV (%)

 

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

(95% CI)

PC

        

 Treatment failure

1.86 (0.69, 4.00)

98.7 (97.5, 99.4)

40.0 (16.3, 67.7)

68.0 (65.0, 70.9)

NA

NA

NA

NA

ED

        

 Treatment failure

50.2 (45.3, 55.2)

68.6 (66.6, 70.6)

23.1 (20.3, 26.0)

88.0 (86.4, 89.6)

27.6 (23.3, 32.2)

85.9 (84.4, 87.4)

26.8 (22.7, 31.3)

86.4 (84.9, 87.8)

 Mortality

52.5 (43.2, 61.7)

66.5 (64.6, 68.4)

7.05 (5.46, 8.94)

96.7 (95.7, 97.5)

28.3 (20.5, 37.3)

84.4 (82.9, 85.8)

8.08 (5.66, 11.1)

96.1 (95.1, 96.8)

ICU

        

 Mortality

67.2 (58.2, 75.3)

30.8 (26.2, 35.7)

24.2 (19.8, 29.1)

74.1 (66.5, 80.7)

37.6 (29.1, 46.7)

58.2 (53.0, 63.2)

22.8 (17.3, 29.2)

73.9 (68.5, 78.8)

Total lower ARI

        

 Treatment failure

44.9 (41.0, 48.8)

66.4 (64.7, 68.2)

23.5 (21.2, 26.0)

84.0 (82.4, 85.5)

24.4 (21.1, 27.9)

83.4 (82.0, 84.8)

25.3 (21.9, 28.9)

82.8 (81.3, 84.1)

 Mortality

61.2 (54.7, 67.4)

66.2 (64.5, 67.8)

11.7 (9.97, 13.6)

95.9 (95.0, 96.7)

33.8 (27.8, 40.2)

83.1 (81.8, 84.4)

12.8 (10.3, 15.7)

94.5 (93.6, 95.3)

Bronchitis

        

 Treatment failure

0.95 (0.02, 5.19)

96.0 (93.7, 97.7)

5.56 (0.14, 27.3)

79.7 (75.9, 83.1)

NA

NA

NA

NA

 Mortality

0.00 (0.00, 84.2)

96.6 (94.7, 98.0)

0.00 (0.00, 18.5)

99.6 (98.6, 100)

NA

NA

NA

NA

ECOPD

        

 Treatment failure

11.3 (5.28, 20.3)

93.8 (91.3, 95.8)

22.5 (10.8, 38.5)

86.9 (83.8, 89.6)

2.50 (0.30, 8.74)

98.8 (97.4, 99.6)

25.0 (3.19, 65.1)

86.4 (83.3, 89.1)

 Mortality

29.4 (10.3, 56.0)

93.8 (91.5, 95.6)

12.5 (4.19, 26.8)

97.8 (96.2, 98.9)

5.88 (0.15, 28.7)

98.8 (97.5, 99.5)

12.5 (0.32, 52.7)

97.2 (95.5, 98.4)

CAP

        

 Treatment failure

62.5 (57.7, 67.1)

54.1 (51.6, 56.6)

27.0 (24.2, 29.9)

84.2 (81.8, 86.4)

34.9 (30.4, 39.7)

77.7 (75.5, 79.7)

29.8 (25.8, 34.0)

81.5 (79.4, 83.4)

 Mortality

64.0 (56.8, 70.7)

52.2 (49.8, 54.5)

12.8 (10.8, 15.1)

92.9 (91.2, 94.4)

36.0 (29.3, 43.2)

76.2 (74.1, 78.1)

14.3 (11.3, 17.7)

91.5 (90.0, 92.9)

  1. aARI, Acute respiratory tract infection; CAP, Community-acquired pneumonia; CI, Confidence interval; ECOPD, Exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ED, Emergency department; ICU, Intensive care unit; NA, Not applicable due to small sample size; NPV, Negative predictive value; PC, Primary care; PCT, Procalcitonin; PPV, Positive predictive value.