Procalcitonin elevation induced by sympathomimetic drug overdose

Background Procalcitonin, a biomarker used to detect systemic bacterial infection, can be elevated in other conditions. Some case reports have suggested procalcitonin elevation induced by drug overdose. Case Presentation A 20‐year‐old woman with insignificant medical history presented with vomiting,...

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Published inAcute medicine & surgery Vol. 8; no. 1
Main Authors Kodama, Sota, Kashiura, Masahiro, Moriya, Takashi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2021
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Wiley
Subjects
Amphetamines
Bacterial infections
Biomarkers
Caffeine
Case Report
Case Reports
Consciousness
Cytokines
Drug overdose
ephedrine
Glasgow Coma Scale
Infections
Meningitis
Nervous system
Pancreatitis
procalcitonin
sympathomimetic drug
Trauma
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Summary:Background Procalcitonin, a biomarker used to detect systemic bacterial infection, can be elevated in other conditions. Some case reports have suggested procalcitonin elevation induced by drug overdose. Case Presentation A 20‐year‐old woman with insignificant medical history presented with vomiting, fever, and impaired consciousness. Her vital signs showed an altered mental status (Glasgow Coma Scale score, 11 [E4V1M6]) and high fever (38.0°C), and no significant neurological signs were detected. Laboratory tests revealed that her serum procalcitonin level was significantly high (>10 ng/dL). Gradually, her level of consciousness improved, and she admitted that she had taken an overdose of sympathomimetic drugs. She was discharged from the hospital on day 5 without any problems. Conclusion Drug overdose is seldom mentioned as one of the causes of serum procalcitonin level elevation. Sympathomimetic drug overdose can be one of the causes of procalcitonin elevation.
Bibliography:Funding information
No funding information provided.
ISSN:2052-8817
2052-8817
DOI:10.1002/ams2.687