Table 4. Performance characteristics of single biomarkers for diagnosing verified bacterial sepsis using Sepsis-3 criteriaa.
| Biomarker (cut-off) | Sensitivity (95% CI) | Specificity (95% CI) | Accuracy (95% CI) | DOR (95% CI) | PPV (95% CI) | NPV (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT (2.0 ng/mL) | 32.1% (28.3–36.0) | 89.5% (87.6–91.4) | 69.1% (66.8–71.4) | 4.05 (3.10–5.29) | 62.9% (57.3–68.5) | 70.5% (68.0–72.9) |
| PCT (10.0 ng/mL) | 15.4% (12.4–18.3) | 97.4% (96.5–98.4) | 68.2% (65.9–70.5) | 6.88 (4.38–10.81) | 76.8% (69.0–84.6) | 67.5% (65.1–69.9) |
| CRP (20 mg/L) | 88.4% (85.8–91.1) | 14.4% (12.2–16.5) | 40.8% (38.4–43.3) | 1.28 (0.93–1.75) | 36.4% (33.9–39.0) | 69.0% (62.8–75.4) |
| CRP (100 mg/L) | 59.7% (55.6–63.8) | 53.3% (50.2–56.4) | 55.6% (53.1–58.1) | 1.69 (1.37–2.09) | 41.5% (38.1–44.9) | 70.4% (67.2–73.7) |
| Lactate (2.5 mmol/L) | 29.5% (25.7–33.4) | 84.2% (81.9–86.5) | 64.6% (62.2–67.1) | 2.23 (1.73–2.87) | 51.0% (45.4–56.5) | 68.2% (65.6–70.9) |
| Lactate (3.5 mmol/L) | 14.9% (11.9–18.0) | 95.3% (94.0–96.6) | 66.6% (64.2–68.9) | 3.54 (2.43–5.18) | 63.8% (55.4–72.1) | 66.8% (64.3–69.3) |
| NLCR (3.0) | 95.1% (93.3–96.9) | 11.7% (9.7–13.7) | 41.5% (39.1–44.0) | 2.58 (1.67–3.97) | 37.5% (35.0–40.0) | 81.1% (74.7–87.5) |
| NLCR (10.0) | 64.7% (60.8–68.7) | 60.8% (57.9–63.9) | 62.2% (59.8–64.6) | 2.85 (2.30–3.54) | 47.9% (44.3–51.5) | 75.6% (72.6–78.6) |
CRP, C-reactive protein; DOR, diagnostic odds ratio; NLCR, neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio; NPV, negative predictive value; PCT, procalcitonin; PPV, predictive positive value.
aIncluding all episodes fulfilling the Sepsis-3 criteria for bacterial sepsis irrespective severity (i.e., sepsis and septic shock).