الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
PCT is a peptide precursor of the hormone calcitonin. It is composed of 116 amino acids and is produced by parafollicular cells of the thyroid and by the neuroendocrine cells of the lung and the intestine. The level of procalcitonin in the blood stream of healthy individuals is below the limit of detection (0.01 μg/L) of clinical assays. The level of procalcitonin rises in a response to a proinflammatory stimulus, especially of bacterial origin. It does not rise significantly with viral or non-infectious inflammations.
This study was conducted on seventy five patients with clinical, laboratory, serological, imaging and bacteriological evidences of infection aimed to study and evaluate the role of serum Procalcitonin level as marker for diagnosis of bacterial infection. They were selected from in patients and outpatients of Menoufiya fever hospitals (Shebin Elkom, Menouf, Zawiet Elnaoura, Ashmoun and Tala), in the period from April 2014 to December 2014. They were 41 males (54.66 %) and 34 females ( 45.33 %). Their ages ranged between 5 and 63 years with mean value of 22.60±17.62 years. In addition, 15 healthy persons of matched age and sex were selected as control group.
Patients and controls were classified into: GI(bacterial group):- Included 55 patients with clinical, laboratory, serological, imaging and bacteriological evidence of confirmed bacterial infection. They were 30 males (54.5 %) and 25 females ( 45.5 %). Their ages ranged between 5 and 60 years with mean value of 31.65±17.38 years. Bacterial etiology was brucellosis ( in 13 patients), enteric fever ( in 12 patients), bacterial meningitis ( in 10 patients), urinary tract infection ( in 7 patients), acute follicular tonsillitis (in 7 patients) and bacterial pneumonia (in 6 patients).GII (viral group):- Included patients with viral infection.