The value of serum presepsin in differentiating Gram-negative bacteria from Gram-positive bacteria and fungal infection in sepsis patients

Objective To examine whether presepsin level can serve as a distinguishing marker between G- bacteria and G+ bacteria, fungal infection in sepsis patients. Methods A prospective observation study was conducted on the consecutive patients with positive bacterial cultures in intensive care unit (ICU) from June 2017 to November 2018. The patients were divided into the G- group, G+ group and fungal group. Blood samples were collected upon admission to measure the levels of presepsin and procalcitonin (PCT). Results (1) Of the 156 patients met the inclusion criteria. 96 (62% G- rods, 25 (16%) G+ microbes, and 35 (22%) fungi were detected. (2) Presepsin concentrations were significantly higher in the G- group compared with the G+ and fungal groups (P = 0.000). (3) Presepsin level has a higher accuracy in differentiating G- sepsis from Gram+ and fungal sepsis than PCT level [area under the curve (AUC): 0.809 vs 0.712]. The AUC value of a combination of presepsin and PCT level was significantly larger than that of presepsin level alone in differentiating G- sepsis from Gram+ and fungal sepsis (AUC: 0.866 vs 0.809). Conclusions In contrast to PCT, presepsin is a good discriminative biomarker in different infections. Key words: Sepsis; Presepsin; Procalcitonin; Infection