Soluble CD14 Subtype in Peripheral Blood is a Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Sepsis.

Objective: To study the value of serum soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST) in early diagnosis of sepsis.

Methods: Seventy-two patients were diagnosed with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, or septic shock. Peripheral blood was collected at 0, 12, 24, and 48 hours after admission to the hospital. Levels of sCD14-ST, procalcitonin (PCT), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cells (WBC) were determined.

Results: Levels of sCD14-ST in the patients with septic shock were higher than those in the other patients (P < .01) and peaked at 48 h. PCT and CRP levels were similar in the patients at admission but increased by 5 times to 10 times in the next 48 h, especially in the patients with septic shock. WBC levels remained high and did not change dramatically. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity values of sCD14-ST to diagnose sepsis were much higher than those of the other markers.

Conclusion: Compared with PCT, CRP, and WBC, sCD14-ST is a better biomarker for the early diagnosis of sepsis.