C-reactive Protein, Procalcitonin and the Lab-Score for Detecting Serious Bacterial Infections in Febrile Children at the Emergency Department

Abstract

CRP and PCT were both strong predictors of SBI. The original and updated Lab-score performed well, but thresholds values lacked diagnostic value for ruling out SBI. Depending on clinical risk thresholds, diagnostic testing can be limited to CRP or PCT, rather than both, in many febrile children.