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Immunobiology

Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein do not discriminate between febrile reaction to anti-T-lymphocyte antibodies and Gram-negative sepsis

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 32, pages 941–945 (2003)Cite this article

Summary:

Treatment with antibodies against T-lymphocytes usually triggers a febrile response potentially mimicking or masking infection. Procalcitonin (PCT) is considered a sensitive and specific marker of systemic bacterial and fungal infection. It was the aim of this study to investigate the characteristics of PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP) during treatment with polyclonal or monoclonal anti-T-cell antibodies, in order to examine the ability of these parameters to distinguish between systemic bacterial infection and reaction to antibody treatment. Thus, 15 consecutive febrile episodes after T-cell antibody infusion without clinical signs of infection were compared with nine episodes of Gram-negative sepsis. After T-cell antibody infusion PCT and CRP serum levels increased to a similar extent as in Gram-negative sepsis. Therefore, during T-cell antibody treatment neither PCT nor CRP are adequate for differentiating between fever due to infection or to unspecific cytokine release.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Andrea Berghold and Petra Ofner from the Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation for their professional assistance in statistical analysis.

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  1. Division of Paediatric Haematology/Oncology, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria

    H J Dornbusch, V Strenger, R Kerbl, H Lackner, W Schwinger, P Sovinz & C Urban

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  1. H J Dornbusch
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  2. V Strenger
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  3. R Kerbl
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  4. H Lackner
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  5. W Schwinger
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  6. P Sovinz
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  7. C Urban
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Correspondence to H J Dornbusch.

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Dornbusch, H., Strenger, V., Kerbl, R. et al. Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein do not discriminate between febrile reaction to anti-T-lymphocyte antibodies and Gram-negative sepsis. Bone Marrow Transplant 32, 941–945 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704265

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