In this study, we explored the accuracy of two new sepsis biomarkers, monocyte distribution width (MDW) and presepsin (PSP), compared to traditional ones, C-reactive protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (PCT), to identify sepsis and predict intra-hospital mortality by analyzing their kinetic at different time points during hospitalization stay.
We enrolled 104 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of University Hospital “Paolo Giaccone”, Palermo. Among these, 30 (29%) had a clinical diagnosis of sepsis. MDW, PCT, CRP, and PSP were evaluated at admission (T0), after 24 h (T24), 48 h (T48), 72 h (T72), at day 5 (T5), and at discharge (TD).
Patients with sepsis displayed higher levels of PCT and PSP than patients without sepsis at each timepoint; differently, CRP displayed statistically significant differences only at T0, while MDW only at T0 and T24. Patients with increasing levels of PSP displayed lower median survival time than patients with decreasing levels; differences reached statistical significance only at 48 h (20 vs. 29 days, log rank test,
Our findings support the role of PSP and its kinetic as a predictor of ICU mortality.