Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Sep 2012
Review Meta AnalysisUse of serum procalcitonin to detect bacterial infection in patients with autoimmune diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To systematically review evidence of the accuracy of the procalcitonin test for diagnosis of bacterial infection in patients with autoimmune disease. ⋯ Procalcitonin has higher diagnostic value than CRP for the detection of bacterial sepsis in patients with autoimmune disease, and the test for procalcitonin is more specific than sensitive. A procalcitonin test is not recommended to be used in isolation as a rule-out tool.