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Original Article
Procalcitonin levels in patients with Lyme borreliosis
Lotric-Furlan, S., Maraspin-Carman, V., Cimperman, J., Ogrinc, K., Stopar,
T., Strle, F.
Background: Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) procalcitonin levels were
assessed and compared for different groups of patients with Lyme
borreliosis.
Patients and methods: 50 adult patients with Lyme borreliosis, referred to
our department from March to June 2001, were included in this prospective
study. Patients were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of
20 consecutive patients with typical solitary erythema migrans, representing
early localised Lyme borreliosis, the second group comprised 20 patients
with early disseminated Lyme borreliosis (10 with multiple erythema migrans
and 10 with neuroborreliosis), and 10 patients with acrodermatitis chronica
athrophicans represented the group with chronic Lyme borreliosis. Blood
specimens were taken from all patients included in the study, but CSF
samples were restricted to those with disseminated and chronic Lyme
borreliosis. The serum and CSF procalcitonin levels were determined
utilizing the LUMI® PCT (an immunoluminometric assay using two
antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies).
Results: Serum and CSF procalcitonin levels were in normal range in the
large majority of patients. The levels of serum procalcitonin did not differ
in the three groups of patients with Lyme borreliosis (p = 0.5006). The
corresponding values for patients with solitary erythema migrans (early
localised Lyme borreliosis), early disseminated Lyme borreliosis, and
chronic Lyme borreliosis were 0.26 (0.11-0.43), 0.22 (0.10-0.67), and 0.28
(0.13-0.66) µg/ml, respectively. Moreover, procalcitonin levels in CSF were
also low and comparable for patients with multiple erythema migrans (median
0.38, range 0.24-0.54 µg/ml), neuroborreliosis (median 0.16, range 0.10-0.47
µg/ml), and acrodermatitis chronica athrophicans (median 0.30, range
0.15-0.45 µg/ml). The differences were not statistically significant (p =
0.7579).
Conclusions: In the large majority of patients with Lyme borreliosis
procalcitonin values are within normal range. Serum and CSF procalcitonin
levels are of no value for differentiation between early localised, early
disseminated and chronic Lyme borreliosis.
Article in PDF format
http://www.springer.at/periodicals/fulltxt/00435325/full_2002_114_13_530.pdf
Keywords: Procalcitonin, serum, cerebrospinal fluid, Lyme borreliosis.
