Serum Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein as Prognostic Biomarkers in Sepsis and Their Correlation with Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Introduction: Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is an established tool for assessment of organ dysfunction, while biomarkers such as procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) may provide additional prognostic information on sepsis. Objective: This study evaluated serum PCT and CRP levels in patients with sepsis and examined their association with SOFA score and mortality. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 84 patients aged >14 years who fulfilled Sepsis-3 criteria and remained admitted for more than 24 hours. Clinical assessment, SOFA scoring, routine laboratory investigations, serum PCT and serum CRP estimation were performed. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic performance. Results: The mean age of the patients was 57.15 ± 16.17 years, and 42.9% were being females. Forty-seven (55.95%) patients had sepsis and 37 (44.05%) had septic shock. Mean CRP and PCT concentrations were 54.46 ± 3.58 mg/dL and 17.42 ± 2.36 ng/mL respectively. Both biomarkers were significantly higher in septic shock than in sepsis (p<0.001). Overall mortality was 33.33% and was substantially higher among patients with septic shock than among those with sepsis (p<0.001). Among patients with sepsis, CRP, PCT and SOFA scores were significantly higher in non-survivors than survivors (p<0.001). ROC analysis demonstrated an AUC of 0.924 for CRP, 0.996 for PCT and 0.983 for SOFA. CRP and PCT demonstrated significant positive correlations with SOFA score. Conclusion: Serum PCT and CRP were associated with severity and mortality in patients with sepsis and showed significant positive correlations with SOFA score. These findings suggest that PCT may be a useful adjunctive prognostic biomarker in sepsis; however, larger multicentre studies are required for external validation.