Abstract Objectives Recent studies have indicated that the levels of procalcitonin (PCT) can rise in various body fluids, depending on the site of infection. However, there has been no investigation or publication to date on the urinary PCT levels in urinary tract infections (UTIs). Our aim is to evaluate the possible increase in PCT in the urine of patients diagnosed with UTI, in comparison with pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and heparin binding protein (HBP). Methods Sixty patients with UTI, and 30 healthy controls were included. PCT, PTX3 and HBP in the urine and PCT, PTX3 in the serum samples were measured and the groups were compared among themselves. The diagnostic performances of biomarkers were analyzed via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results While PTX3 and HBP levels were significantly elevated in the urine of patients with UTI (p<0.01), the anticipated increase in PCT was not observed. Urinary PCT showed only a weak positive correlation with WBC (rho=0.264). Although there was no difference in serum PCT levels between UTI patients and controls, within the UTI group, serum PCT was positively correlated with serum PTX3 (rho=0.335), CRP (r=0.472), creatinine (rho=0.258), and ESR (r=0.441). A urine PTX3 level ≥0.599 pg/mL indicated UTI diagnosis with 93 % sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions Our findings indicate that urinary PCT is not a reliable diagnostic marker for UTI. However, PTX3 and HBP, especially PTX3, serve as effective markers for detecting UTIs.
Börekci et al. (Fri,) studied this question.