Value of change in lactic acid and procalcitonin levels in judging prognosis of severe pneumonia patients

Objective To evaluate the prognostic value of change in lactic acid and procalcitonin levels in patients with severe pneumonia. Methods The clinical data of 124 patients with severe pneumonia were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into death group (n=32) and survival group (n=92) according to whether they died in hospital. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were observed, and the levels of lactic acid, procalcitonin and C-reactive protein as well as the rate of change in lactic acid and procalcitonin levels were also observed. Results When compared with the survival group, the level of lactic acid, rate of change in lactic acid level, level of procalcitonin, and rate of change in procalcitonin level in the death group increased significantly (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the level of C-reactive protein between the two groups (P>0.05). Among the prognostic values of severe pneumonia patients, the areas under ROC curve from high to low were rate of change in procalcitonin level, rate of change in lactic acid level, the level of procalcitonin, the level of lactic acid and the level of C-reactive protein, respectively. The area under ROC curve for the rate of change in procalcitonin and lactic acid levels was 0.966 (0.942-0.989) and 0.782 (0.702-0.859), respectively. Conclusions The rate of change in lactate and procalcitonin levels have a good clinical value in predicting the prognosis in patients with severe pneumonia.