Comparison with commercial procalcitonin assays

• Calibration

The VIDAS B·R·A·H·M·S PCT test has been calibrated to the B·R·A·H·M·S PCT LIA, which is the reference for commercially available PCT assays.

• Concordance in clinical assessment

It has been shown that patients with values < 0.5 ng/mL represent a low risk of severe sepsis and/or septic shock, whereas patients with PCT values > 2ng/mL represent a high risk of severe sepsis and/or septic shock.

In a clinical study on critically ill patients, VIDAS B·R·A·H·M·S PCT was compared with B·R·A·H·M·S PCT LIA at cut-off values of 0.5 ng/mL and 2 ng/mL (see tables below).

• Normal values and functional sensitivity

The 99th and the 95th percentile values were determined by testing 200 apparently healthy individuals.

1.  Effect of procalcitonin-guided treatment on antibiotic use and outcome in lower respiratory tract infections: cluser-randomized, single-blinded intervention trial. Christ-Crain M. et coll. Lancet. 2004; 363: 600-7.

2.  Morin N., Renard N., Gaude H., Hainque B., Bernard M. Evaluation Of The Analytical Performance of Vidas® B·R·A·H·M·S PCT, Poser presented during the CORATA, Oct 24-27 2006, Bruges

3.  Diagnostic value of procalcitonin, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8 in critically ill patients admitted with suspected sepsis. Harbarth S et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2001, 164: 396-402.