Serum Procalcitonin (PCT) as a Negative Screening Test for Colonic Ischemia after Open Abdominal Aortic Surgery

• Published in: European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 694 - 697
• Main Authors: Nagata, J, Kobayashi, M, Nishikimi, N, Komori, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2008
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aortic Diseases - blood; Aortic Diseases - surgery; Aortic surgery; Biomarkers - blood; Bowel ischemia; Calcitonin - blood; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Colitis, Ischemic - blood; Colitis, Ischemic - diagnosis; Colitis, Ischemic - etiology; Complication; Early Diagnosis; Elective Surgical Procedures; Female; Humans; Ischemic colitis; Male; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Procalcitonin; Protein Precursors - blood; PTC; Sensitivity and Specificity; Surgery; Treatment Outcome; Vascular Surgical Procedures - adverse effects; Bowel ischemia; Complication; Aortic surgery; Procalcitonin; PTC; Ischemic colitis
• ISSN: 1078-5884; 1532-2165
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejvs.2007.11.014

Background and aim We assessed serum procalcitonin (PCT) as a screening test for early detection of ischemic colitis. Patients and methods Ninety-three patients (81 men and 12 women) undergoing elective aortic surgery were enrolled in this study. Their mean age was 70.3 ± 8.1 years old. Serum procalcitonin was measured postoperatively. Results Four patients suffered from colon ischemia. Based on a cut off value of serum PCT ≥ 2.0 ng/ml, fourteen patients had a false positive but none had a false negative result. Sensitivity was 100%, and specificity was 83.9% in detecting ischemic colitis. Negative predictive vale was 100%. Conclusion Serum PCT is a non-invasive test that has a high negative predictive vale in ruling out colon ischemia after aortic surgery.