The utility of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin for sepsis diagnosis in critically burned patients: A preliminary study.

Objective: To assess the utility of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) as biomarkers of infection in patients with severe burn injury.

Methods: The present study included severe burn injury patients consecutively admitted to the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (Andalucia, Spain) intensive care unit during a 12-month period. The variables of interest were: age, sex, mechanism of injury, percentage of burned body surface area, the Abbreviated Burn Severity Index (ABSI) and the absence/presence of sepsis.