Procalcitonin is a well-known biomarker used to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections, assess a patient's risk category, and serve as a prognostic indicator. However, existing data are derived primarily from relatively young patients in intensive care units; there is a lack of information regarding the prognostic significance of procalcitonin in older patients hospitalized in internal medicine wards.
All patients hospitalized in internal medicine and geriatric wards with a diagnosis of acute infectious disease who underwent procalcitonin testing, starting in 2020.
Age under 18
Extensive burns
Major operation in the last 30 days
Major trauma in the last 30 days.