Objective To explore the value of joint detection of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the diagnosis, pathogenic condition and prognosis evaluation of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP).Methods From Jan 2012 to Jan 2016, 186 cases of SAP patients treated in our hospital were enrolled as the study group, and 175 cases of acute stroke patients without pneumonia were simultaneously enrolled as the control group. The serum PCT and CRP levels on admission and at 7 days after attack in all patients were detected and the differences between the two groups were compared. According to their National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) scores, the patients in the study group were further divided into the mild subgroup (NIHSS score≤6), the moderate subgroup (6 < NIHSS score≤14) and the severe subgroup (NIHSS score >14). And changes of serum PCT and CRP levels among the three subgroups were also compared. Results In the study group, the serum PCT and CRP levels on admission[(6.73±1.21) ng/mL, (26.83±2.62) mg/L] were significantly higher than those in the control group[(0.51±0.12) ng/mL, (9.52±0.81) mg/L; P<0.05], and the PCT level at 7 days after attack was still significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the CRP level between them at the moment (P>0.05). The PCT levels in the study group were of no significant difference between on admission and at 7 days after attack (P>0.05), but the CRP levels in the study group on admission were significantly higher than those at 7 days after attack (P<0.05). On admission, the CRP and PCT levels in the mild, moderate and severe groups increased successively, and at 7 days after attack, the differences of PCT levels among the three subgroups became significant (P<0.05), but the differences of CRP levels were not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion The joint detection of serum PCT and CRP levels in SAP patients would be a better clinical marker for the early diagnosis, pathogenic condition and prognosis evaluation of SAP. |