[Dynamics in levels of procalcitonin in healthy term newborns during the first 24 hours of life].

Unlabelled: Procalcitonin /PCT/ is a reliable marker for the diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis but its sensitivity and specificity in literature vary widely mostly due to existing unclarity on its normal values and kinetics in the postnatal period. Aim of our research is to study the normal values of PCT and its dynamics during the first 24 hours of life for the Bulgarian population.

Materials & Methods: 70 healthy neonates were prospectively enrolled and separated in the following 3 groups (Group 1- immediately afterbirth; Group 2- 0-12 h afterbirth; Group 3- 12-24 h afterbirth) regarding the age at the time of PCT testing. The selected method of PCT testing is direct chemiluminescence. Results were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS).

Results: For group 1 and group 2 the mean PCT level was 0.06 and 0.59 ng/ml respectively. In group 3 PCT concentrations reached peak mean values of 3.35ng/ml. In the last group also the greatest variations were observed PCTmin - 0.31 ng/ml, PCTmax - 23.81 ng/ml. No correlation between PCT concentrations, sex, mode of delivery and parity was found.

Conclusion: During the first 24 hours of life PCT values in healthy term neonates show broad variations, most marked in the interval 12-24 h. The dynamics of PCT concentrations is characterized by a gradual increase from birth reaching peak levels approximately 24 hours later.