Procalcitonin is a new and innovative parameter which reacts with high sensitivity and specificity to bacterial infection and sepsis. It correlates better than all other existing parameters to the inflammatory activity of the immune system and can be used to diagnose and to monitor severe bacterial infections and sepsis.

Now sensitive measurement techniques (e.g., PCT sensitive KRYPTOR) allow detection of subtle PCT elevations in serum and plasma.  So the detection of clinically relevant bacterial infections becomes possible at much earlier stage of the diasease.

In this chapter you will find the basic information about utilisation of PCT for clinical assessment and therapeutic decision making in patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI).

More detailed information you can find, e.g. in Christ-Crain M. & Muller B., Swiss Med. Wkly 2005, 135:451-460 and by contacting our customer service.