Hendra Koncoro¹, Ida Bagus Suta²
¹Departemen Ilmu Penyakit Dalam, Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Udayana, RSUP Sanglah Denpasar
²Divisi Pulmonologi dan Ilmu Kedokteran Respirasi Bagian/ SMF Ilmu Penyakit Dalam, Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Udayana, RSUP Sanglah Denpasar
Abstract
Development of medical science in respirology is unattached to importance of diagnostic and therapeutic aspect. New diagnostic tools surfaced as compensation for practitioner needs in early diagnosis and prompt treatment in respirology. Microbial culture examination is an effective way in diagnosis of lung infection although time-consuming. Therefore, additional examinationwhich warrant fast and accuracy such as procalcitonin is needed. Procalcitonin is a prohormone for calcitonin, which is secreted by the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland. The biological activity of procalcitonin is significantly different from calcitonin and is believed to be part of the complex inflammatory cascade of the immune system. Procalcitonin has emerged as the most promising marker of bacterial infections. Numerous studies have been conducted using procalcitonin to reduce antibiotic use, in diagnostic and prognostic aspect on different respirology diagnosis, infection or non infection cause. This aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence for procalcitonin in respiratory medicine in different clinical settings. Procalcitonin may be integrated in each diagnosis and therapy guideline on lung disease considering its high accuracy. (J Respir Indo. 2015; 35: 193-202)
Keywords: Procalcitonin, pulmonology, diagnosis, lung infection