The comparison of serum procalcitonin level in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome due to sepsis, pneumonia and hyaline membrane disease

Abstract Respiratory distress syndrome is one of most common problems in neonatal medicine. Procalcitonin is a protein, which increases in acute bacterial infection, but this issue is a controversy in hyaline membrane disease. The purpose of this study was to compare serum procalcitonin in hyaline membrane disease, sepsis and pneumonia in Khatam al-Anbiya hospital of Tehran. This cross sectional study was conducted in two years since 1387 to 1389. Patients include 90 premature infants less than 37 weeks in three groups(group one 50 neonates withRDS, group two 19 neonates with sepsis and group three 18 cases with pneumonia. Mean of procalcitonin in neonates with HMD was 0.19 ± 0.1; in neonates with sepsis was 1.77 ± 0.6 and in cases with pneumonia was 2.22 ± 0.7 (P<0.01). From a total of 49 neonates with HMD 48 of them(96%) had serum PCT less than 0.5 ng/ml, and one baby showed a serum level higher than 2ng/ml. It seems that the procalcitonin is a good marker to differentiate RDS from pneumonia and sepsis.