Utility of C-Reactive Protein and Procalcitonin for Detecting Bloodstream Infection in Patients with HIV/AIDS

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected persons, are at high risk for developing a bloodstream infection. In order to evaluate the usefulness of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PTC) in the detection of bloodstream infection in HIV, a case-control study was conducted from February to December 2012. PCT and CPR levels were measured in 2 groups. PCT concentrations were measured by the VIDAS® Brahms PCT assay, and CRP concentrations were determined by CRP latex. Values were calculated for both biomarkers and discriminative ability of PCT and CRP was analyzed using ROC curves. There were no significant differences between the study group and the control groups with respect to CRP levels. However, they were much higher PCT levels in patients with bacteremia. PCT showed greater discriminating ability compared to CRP, and proved to be a valuable tool for the detection of systemic bacterial infections in HIV infected patients.