PMID- 18330505
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20081112
LR  - 20181201
IS  - 0300-8126 (Print)
IS  - 0300-8126 (Linking)
VI  - 36
IP  - 2
DP  - 2008 Mar
TI  - Influence of steroids on procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in patients with 
      COPD and community-acquired pneumonia.
PG  - 163-6
LID - 10.1007/s15010-007-7206-5 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: The induction of C-reactive Protein (CRP) may be attenuated by 
      corticosteroids, whereas Procalcitonin (PCT) appears to be unaltered. We 
      investigated, whether in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) a combined 
      antibiotic-corticosteroid therapy may actually lead to different slopes of 
      decline of these inflammatory markers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied the 
      slopes of decline of PCT and CRP serum levels during 7 consecutive days as well 
      as clinical parameters in a group of patients with CAP on or off corticosteroids. 
      Patients with underlying COPD received systemic corticosteroids (n = 10), while 
      non-COPD patients (n = 10) presenting with CAP alone formed the control group. 
      All patients were treated with antibiotics. RESULTS: At baseline, relevant 
      clinical and laboratory characteristics of the two groups were similar. Regarding 
      the decreasing shapes of the curves from PCT and CRP, no significant differences 
      were found (p-value = 0.48 for the groups for CRP, respectively 0.64 for PCT). 
      All patients showed an uneventful recovery. CONCLUSION: In patients with COPD and 
      CAP, the time courses over 7 days of PCT and CRP showed a nearly parallel decline 
      compared to non-COPD patients with CAP. Contrary to the induction phase, 
      corticosteroids do not modify the time-dependent decay of PCT and CRP when the 
      underlying infectious disease (CAP) is adequately treated.
FAU - Perren, A
AU  - Perren A
AD  - Intensive Care Unit, Ospedale Regionale Bellinzona e Valli, 6500, Bellinzona, 
      Switzerland. andreas.perren@eoc.ch
FAU - Cerutti, B
AU  - Cerutti B
FAU - Lepori, M
AU  - Lepori M
FAU - Senn, V
AU  - Senn V
FAU - Capelli, B
AU  - Capelli B
FAU - Duchini, F
AU  - Duchini F
FAU - Domenighetti, G
AU  - Domenighetti G
LA  - eng
PT  - Clinical Trial
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Multicenter Study
DEP - 20080312
PL  - Germany
TA  - Infection
JT  - Infection
JID - 0365307
RN  - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents)
RN  - 0 (Anti-Inflammatory Agents)
RN  - 0 (CALCA protein, human)
RN  - 0 (Protein Precursors)
RN  - 9007-12-9 (Calcitonin)
RN  - 9007-41-4 (C-Reactive Protein)
RN  - JHB2QIZ69Z (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide)
RN  - VB0R961HZT (Prednisone)
RN  - X4W7ZR7023 (Methylprednisolone)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use
MH  - Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use
MH  - C-Reactive Protein/*metabolism
MH  - Calcitonin/*blood
MH  - Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide
MH  - Community-Acquired Infections/blood/complications/drug therapy
MH  - Drug Therapy, Combination
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Longitudinal Studies
MH  - Male
MH  - Methylprednisolone/*therapeutic use
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Pilot Projects
MH  - Pneumococcal Infections/drug therapy
MH  - Pneumonia/blood/complications/*drug therapy
MH  - Prednisone/*therapeutic use
MH  - Protein Precursors/*blood
MH  - Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/blood/complications/*drug therapy
EDAT- 2008/03/12 09:00
MHDA- 2008/11/13 09:00
CRDT- 2008/03/12 09:00
PHST- 2007/05/09 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2007/09/19 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2008/03/12 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2008/11/13 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2008/03/12 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1007/s15010-007-7206-5 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Infection. 2008 Mar;36(2):163-6. doi: 10.1007/s15010-007-7206-5. Epub 2008 Mar 
      12.