Abstract
Background: Sepsis is life-threatening organ dysfunction due to a dysregulated host response to infection. Early diagnosis of sepsis is challenging due to unknown sources of infection, and mortality prediction is usually complex. We aimed to investigate the clinical value of presepsin for discriminating sepsis from non-infectious organ failure and predicting mortality among sepsis patients in the emergency department (ED).Methods: This prospective observational study included 420 patients divided into three groups according to the Sepsis-3 definitions: non-infectious organ failure (n=142), sepsis (n=141), and septic shock (n=137). Blood samples for biomarker measurement of presepsin, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein were drawn in the ED and biomarker levels were compared between the groups. Optimal cut-off values for presepsin to discriminate between the three clinical diagnoses were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. We also performed ROC curve analysis for each biomarker as a predictor of mortality. After excluding non-infectious organ failure, we extracted the optimal cut-off value of presepsin to predict mortality associated with sepsis and septic shock and performed Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis according to the cut-off value.Results: Presepsin levels (median [IQR]) were significantly higher in sepsis than in non-infectious organ failure (792 [450–1273] vs. 286 [170–417], p <0.001) and significantly higher in septic shock than in sepsis (1287 [589–2365] vs. 792 [450–1273], p=0.002). The optimal cut-off value for presepsin to discriminate between sepsis and non-infectious organ failure was 582 pg/mL (sensitivity, 70.1; specificity, 89.4; AUC, 0.877; p <0.001) and to discriminate between sepsis and septic shock was 1285 pg/mL (sensitivity, 50.4; specificity, 76.6; AUC, 0.618; p <0.001). The optimal cut-off value for presepsin for predicting 30-day mortality was 821 pg/mL (sensitivity, 68.9; specificity, 50.5; AUC, 0.605; p=0.005) in patients with sepsis and septic shock. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that patients with higher presepsin levels (≥821 pg/mL) had significantly higher mortality than patients with lower presepsin levels (<821 pg/mL) (log-rank test; p=0.004). Conclusions: Presepsin levels could effectively differentiate sepsis from non-infectious organ failure and septic shock from sepsis. Presepsin levels could help clinicians predict mortality in patients with sepsis and septic shock.
Association between sublingual microcirculation, tissue perfusion and organ failure in major trauma: A subgroup analysis of a prospective observational study
