Plasma Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein Concentrations in Pediatric Patients with Epstein–Barr Virus Infection

摘要

In children with pharyngitis or fever without focus, it is not always is possible to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections. Waiting for bacterial growth in cultures can delay the initiation of appropriate antibiotic treatments. Indirect diagnostic methods, such as detection of streptococcal antigens (1) or heterophilic antibodies, lack the appropriate sensitivity or specificity. C-Reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) have been proposed as markers of bacterial infection in children. To our knowledge, their utility in the early phase of certain viral infections, such as infectious mononucleosis, has not been elucidated (2)(3).We studied 25 frozen plasma samples (stored at ?20 °C) from children (16 males and 9 females; mean age, 41.7 months; range, 17–60 months). These samples were randomly selected as follows among those from children 5 years of age with IgM antibodies against Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) admitted to our hospital in the last 2 years: 25 …