Abstract
Background: Presepsin is a subtype of soluble CD14 that is increased in the blood of septic patients. We investigated the role of dynamic changes in serum presepsin levels in critically ill, immunocompromised patients with sepsis.Methods: This is a prospective cohort study that included 119 adult patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) between March 2019 and June 2020. Sepsis and septic shock were defined as Sepsis-3. Patients were classified into one of the following diagnostic groups: no sepsis, sepsis, and septic shock. Presepsin level was measured on day 1 and day 3 after ICU admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.Results: Of the 119 patients, sepsis was diagnosed in 40 patients (33.6%) and septic shock was diagnosed in 60 (50.4%) patients. The Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) 3 and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score on day 1 were 75.5 ± 14.9 and 9.0 (6.5–11.5), respectively, and the overall hospital mortality was 44.5%. In 61 immunocompromised patients, presepsin levels on day 1 were higher in patients with sepsis than those in patients without sepsis (1203.0 [773.0–2484.0] vs. 753.0 [603.5–1092.0] ng/ml; P = 0.004). The area under the curve (AUC) of presepsin for diagnosing sepsis in immunocompromised patients was 0.87, which was comparable with that of procalcitonin (AUC, 0.892). Presepsin levels on day 3 were higher in patients who died in the hospital than in those who survived (1965.0 [1149.0–3423.0] vs. 933.0 [638.0–1571.0]; P = 0.001). In immunocompromised patients who died in the hospital, presepsin levels on day 3 were significantly higher than those on day 1 (P = 0.018). In the multivariate analysis, ΔPresepsin+ (ΔPresepsin concentrations [day3 – day1] > 0) alone was independently correlated with in-hospital mortality in immunocompromised patients (odds ratio, 6.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–29.06; P = 0.020).Conclusion: These findings suggest that dynamic changes in presepsin levels between day 1 and day 3 are associated with in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis, especially in immunocompromised patients.