1Yousry Abdel-Mawla, 2Mahmoud
Al-Badry, 3Yousry Abuel-Maged, 4Mahmoud Abdel-Sabour
1Dermatology
and Venereology, 2Internal Medicine, 3Biochemistry
Departments, Faculty of Medicine; Zagazig university, 4Microbiology
and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Benha university.
The objective of
this study was to determine whether or not measuring serum procalcitonin (PCT)
level could be a reliable marker for detecting infection during the course of
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and guttate psoriasis. Patients with SLE
showing evidence of urinary tract infection (16 of 24) of both sexes and within
the age group of (19-27) showed a statistically significant (P<0.05) higher
serum PCT than in age and sex matched control subjects (n=24) and patients with
SLE (with and without disease activity, n=24) without urinary tract infection.
Similarly patients with guttate psoriasis manifesting bacterial throat
infection (n=20) showed statistically significant (P<0.05) higher serum PCT
as compared to the control subjects. In the two groups of patients, antibiotic
therapy and cure of infection induced suppression of serum PCT level. Measuring
of serum interleukin (IL) 6 among the two groups of patients and controls and
assessing serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in control subjects and SLE patients
group were also conducted. It is concluded that measuring of serum PCT is
helpful in detecting the development of infection during the course of immune-mediated
disorders. PCT test is easy and rapid.