Procalcitonin or lactate clearance, or both, for risk assessment in patients with sepsis? Results from a prospective US ICU patient cohort

Blood lactate level is a routinely used biomarker for management of patients in septic conditions in the ICU. There is a lack of clinical research data comparing lactate with novel sepsis biomarkers, such as procalcitonin, in regard to the diagnostic and prognostic potential. Herein, we investigated the diagnostic and prognostic value of initial lactate and procalcitonin levels and their kinetics within the ICU stay for prediction of positive blood cultures and fatal outcome in a well characterized cohort of sepsis patients in a US critical care setting.