Procalcitonin--a marker and mediator of inflammation.

Evaluation of procalcitonin levels is a sensitive investigation which is significant for differentiation between microbial and non-microbial infection, a determination of its dynamics and a prediction of therapy results. It is, however, necessary to evaluate its levels in relation to other investigations and their dynamics (other inflammatory markers, organ function dynamics), which specify diagnosis with the clinical condition of a patient. Even today, 10 years after the discovery of procalcitonin as an inflammatory marker and likely mediator of a cytokine cascade, there are many unanswered questions regarding its production in relation to physiological significance during the defensive response of an organism (12). Boucher formulated a simple conclusion in 2000: Procalcitonin should not be seen as the marker of sepsis but as one of many potentially useful markers.