Procalcitonin in new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), complicated by pneumonia, sepsis, in patients with diabetes mellitus

Objective: to study procalcitonin (PCT) for evaluating the effectiveness of diagnosing pneumonia and sepsis complicating new coronavirus infection in patients with diabetes mellitus and those without it. Materials and Methods. A total of 65 patients with new coronavirus infection complicated by pneumonia and sepsis were examined, including 35 patients with type 2 diabetes (53.8%). Among the diabetic patients, 20 (30.8%) had complications (diabetic microangiopathies and macroangiopathies). The age of the patients ranged from 42 to 89 years. PCT levels were determined using an automatic immunochemical electro-chemiluminescent analyzer Cobas e 411 (Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation 24-14, 2020). The reference interval for PCT is 0–0.046 ng/ml. Results. PCT levels in patients with new coronavirus infection complicated by pneumonia and sepsis combined with diabetes (1.7 ± 1.47 ng/ml) did not differ from those in patients without diabetes (3.1 ± 2.96 ng/ml). However, PCT levels in patients with new coronavirus infection complicated by pneumonia and sepsis combined with diabetes and diabetic microangiopathies were higher than those in patients without diabetic microangiopathies. Conclusion. PCT levels did not differ between patients with new coronavirus infection complicated by pneumonia and sepsis in combination with diabetes and those without diabetes. Thus, PCT serves as a universal marker of the severity of bacterial infection, regardless of the presence of diabetes.