Table 5.
Selected circulating biomarkers assessed in clinical studies for diagnosis of sepsis. At least 49 patients enrolled in any of the studies. Studies listed in the reversed chronological order starting with the most recent, maximally 4 studies per biomarker listed. Selected multiple-biomarker studies listed more than once for separate biomarkers
| Biomarker* | Number/Type+ of Patients | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| aPTT | All adult | |
| Study 1: 200 patients | Study 1: combination with PCT increased specificity (450) | |
| Study 2: 49 patients | Study 2: neutropenic hemato-oncology patients (172) | |
| CD64 | All adult | |
| S1: 293 patients | S1: sepsis versus SIRS (138) | |
| S2: 156 patients | S2: bacterial versus viral versus SIRS; CD35 also assessed (180) | |
| S3: 112 patients | S3: septic versus healthy controls; PCT also assessed (57) | |
| S4: 135 patients | S4: bacterial versus viral infection (272) | |
| EA Complex | Pediatric: 74 patients | Diagnosis of neonatal sepsis; combination with immature to total neutrophil count ratio improved accuracy; CRP also assessed (377) |
| G-CSF | All pediatric | |
| S1:156 patients | S1: diagnosis of bacterial and fungal sepsis; high negative predictive value (184) | |
| S2:190 patients | S2: confirmed versus suspected sepsis versus local infections; combination with IL-8 improved accuracy; IL-1ra also assessed (108) | |
| IL-1ra | All pediatric | |
| S1: 182 patients | S1: an increase 2 days before the sepsis onset; IL-6 and ICAM-1 also assessed (203) | |
| S2:190 patients | S2: confirmed versus suspected sepsis versus local infections poor performance, G-CSF and IL-8 also assessed (108) | |
| IL-12 | Pediatric: 112 patients | Diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, high specificity, low sensitivity; IL-10 also assessed (353) |
| IL-8 | All pediatric | |
| S1: 123 patients | S1: confirmed versus suspected sepsis; IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, INF-γ, TNF-α, PCT, CRP also assessed (35) | |
| S2: 92 patients | S2: confirmed versus suspected sepsis; IL-6, PCT, CRP also assessed (408) | |
| S3: 190 patients | S3: confirmed versus suspected sepsis versus local infections; IL-1ra, G-CSF also assessed (108) | |
| IP-10 | Pediatric: 155 patients | Recognition of bacterial sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis; TNF-α, IL-1β, 6, 8,10, 12 and MCP-1, GROα, RANTES also assessed (265) |
| LBP | S1: Adult/Pediatric: 57 patients | S1: cancer patients with febrile neutropenia; CRP also assessed (289) |
| S2: Pediatric: 140 patients | S2: bacteremia versus no bacteremia; IL-6, CRP, HMGB-1 also assessed (295) | |
| S3: Pediatric: 92 patients | S3: patients with versus without bacterial sepsis; CD46 and PCT also assessed (139) | |
| S4: Adult: 185 patients | S4: bacteraemia versus no bacteremia; PCT and HMGB-1 also assessed (125) | |
| MCP-1 | Pediatric: 76 patients | Patients with hematologic malignancies; CRP and IL-8 also assessed (95) |
| neopterin | S1: Adult: 208 patients | S1: SIRS versus septic shock in ICU patients; PCT also assessed (336) |
| S2: Adult: 56 patients | S2: postoperative SIRS versus sepsis; EA also assessed (291) | |
| suPAR | Adult: 151 patients | SIRS patients with versus without bacterial infection; TREM-1, CRP, PCT, MIF also assessed (193) |
| TREM-1 | S1: adult: 631 patients | S1: emergency department patients; HMGB-1 and CD64 also assessed (126) |
| S2: adult: 114 patients | S2: sepsis versus SIRS; PCT also assessed (207) | |
| S3: pediatric: 52 patients | S3: SIRS versus late onset neonatal sepsis; IL-6 also assessed (341) | |
| S4: adult: 95 patients | S4: sepsis versus SIRS; CRP also assessed (30) |
Reference numbers are given in parentheses.
Modified from Pierrakos and Vincent (301). +Pediatric population includes newborns, neonates, and children up to the age of 18. S, study; aPTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; EA, elastase alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor; G-CSF, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; IL, inteleukin; IP, interferon-induced protein; LBP, lipopolysaccharide binding protein; MCP, monocyte chemotactic protein; suPAR, soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor; TREM, triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells.