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Clinical, Biological and Molecular Aspects of COVID-19 pp 277–286Cite as

The Level of Procalcitonin in Severe COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((PMISB,volume 1321))

Abstract

There is data from individual clinical trials suggesting that procalcitonin (PCT) may be a prognostic factor in the severity of COVID-19 disease. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to investigate PCT levels in severe COVID-19 patients. We searched Embase, ProQuest, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and ISI/Web of Science for studies that reported the level of PCT of patient with severe COVID-19. We included all studies regardless of design that reported the level of PCT in patients with severe COVID-19. We excluded articles not regarding COVID-19 or not reporting PCT level, studies not in severe patients, review articles, editorials or letters, expert opinions, comments, and animal studies. Nine studies were included in the analysis. The odds of having more severe COVID-19 disease was higher in subjects with elevated PCT (≥0.05 ng/mL) compared with those having low procalcitonin (<0.05 ng/mL) [n = 6, OR(95% CI) = 2.91(1.14, 7.42), p = 0.025). After estimating the mean and standard deviation values from the sample size, median, and interquartile range, a pooled effect analysis indicated higher serum PCT concentrations in patients with severe versus less severe disease [n = 6, SMD(95% CI) = 0.64(0.02, 1.26), p = 0.042]. The results of this study showed that PCT is increased in patients with severe COVID-19 infection.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to guidance and advice from the Clinical Research Development Unit of Baqiyatallah Hospital.

Conflict of Interests

None.

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None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student of Nursing, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Farshad Heidari-Beni

  2. Trauma Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Amir Vahedian-Azimi

  3. Basic and Molecular Epidemiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sajad Shojaei

  4. Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sajad Shojaei

  5. Anesthesia and Critical Care Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Farshid Rahimi-Bashar

  6. Chemical Injuries Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Alireza Shahriary

  7. Division of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Thomas P. Johnston

  8. Neurogenic Inflammation Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  9. Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  10. Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute (PMMHRI), Lodz, Poland

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  11. Halal Research Center of IRI, FDA, Tehran, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

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  1. Farshad Heidari-Beni
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  2. Amir Vahedian-Azimi
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  4. Farshid Rahimi-Bashar
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Amir Vahedian-Azimi or Amirhossein Sahebkar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paul C. Guest

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Heidari-Beni, F. et al. (2021). The Level of Procalcitonin in Severe COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. In: Guest, P.C. (eds) Clinical, Biological and Molecular Aspects of COVID-19. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1321. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59261-5_25

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