Procalcitonin in children with sepsis and septic shock.

Objective: To study the behavior of procalcitonin and to verify whether it can be used to differentiate children with septic conditions.

Method: Children were enrolled prospectively from among those aged 28 days to 14 years, admitted between January 2004 and December 2005 to the pediatric intensive care unit at UNESP with sepsis or septic shock. The children were classified as belonging to one of two groups: the sepsis group (SG; n = 47) and the septic shock group (SSG; n = 43).