Utility of procalcitonin as an early diagnostic marker of bacteremia in individuals with periodontitis Stage II and III.

Background: The aim of the present study is to assess the ability of procalcitonin (PCT) to differentiate between periodontal health and Stage II and III periodontitis. We further assessed, if PCT can reflect early bacteremia induced by non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT).

Methods: Sixty-four systemically healthy individuals were divided into Group I, periodontally healthy, and Group II, Stage II and III periodontitis. NSPT was done for both the groups. Standardized serum and salivary samples were obtained and analyzed for PCT levels using highly sensitive double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at baseline and 2 weeks. In addition, the serum levels of PCT were recorded at immediate and 1-hour post-NSPT.

Results: Mean PCT levels (saliva = 0.03 ng/mL and serum = 0.05 ng/mL) in periodontally healthy group were considerably lower than that in the periodontitis group (saliva = 0.22 ng/mL and serum = 1.85 ng/mL) with significant intergroup comparison at P < 0.001. Post NSPT the mean serum PCT values increased from 1.854 ng/mL to 1.871 ng/mL at the immediate interval and remained at 0.879 ng/mL after 2 weeks at P < 0.001. Spearman correlation showed highly significant positive correlation between serum and salivary PCT values to clinical attachment level (CAL) at P < 0.001 and rho = 0.78 and 0.75, respectively. Linear regression model showed serum PCT to be a significant predictor for CAL.

Conclusion: Screening for serum PCT levels in patients with periodontitis could act not only as a guide to assess the bacterial load and use of antibiotics but also as a predictor for CAL loss in patients with periodontitis.