Procalcitonin in Cirrhotic Patients at High Risk for Sepsis

Infections are frequent life-threatening events in patients with cirrhosis, occurring at least in 35% of hospitalized patients and accounting for 20% of inpatients death. Among cirrhotics, ascitic patients have the highest risk of death for sepsis. At the admission, no clear-cut clinical and biochemical features are helpful in diagnosing and prognostically stratifying those patients with sepsis. Procalcitonin (PCT)is a breakthrough marker presenting high sensibility and specificity in diagnosing bacterial infections in different clinical settings. The purpose of this study is to evaluate PCT as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for sepsis in hospitalized cirrhotic patients with ascitic decompensation.