Description
Procalcitonin (PCT) belongs to the calcitonin (CT) superfamily of peptides. It can be divided into 3 sections including the amino terminus of the PCT region, immature calcitonin, and calcitonin carboxyl-terminus peptide-1 (CCP-1, also called katacalcin). Procalcitonin exhibits greater specificity than other proinflammatory markers, IL-6, Il-1 beta, CRP, TNF-alpha, in identifying patients with sepsis. Its short half-life (25–30 hours in plasma) coupled with its virtual absence in health and specificity for bacterial infections, gives it a clear advantage over the other markers of bacterial infection