Diagnostic Value of Combined Detection of Serum PCT,IL-6 and CRP in Pathogen Identification and Disease Severity in Pediatric Pneumonia

Zhu Yan; Peng Shanshan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-5775.2025.17.001

Abstract：Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of combined detection of serum procalcitonin(PCT),interleukin-6(IL-6)and C-reactive protein(CRP)in pathogen identification and disease severity assessment in pediatric pneumonia.Methods:A total of 80 pediatric pneumonia patients treated in the hospital from June 2023 to June 2024 were enrolled.The patients were divided into three groups based on the different pathogens:the bacterial group(32 cases),the mycoplasma pneumonia group(22 cases),and the unspecified pathogen group(26 cases).Additionally,40 healthy individuals were included as the control group.Serum levels of PCT,IL-6 and CRP were measured in all participants.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were constructed to assess the diagnostic value of combined serum PCT,IL-6,and CRP levels in pathogen identification.Spearman correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between these biomarkers and disease severity.Results:The serum levels of PCT,IL-6 and CRP in the bacterial group were significantly higher than those in the mycoplasma pneumonia group,unspecified pathogen group and control group(t=272.721,361.974,272.331;P＜0.001).The serum levels of PCT,IL-6 and CRP in the severe group were higher than those in the mild group(t=39.827,20.495,23.629;P＜0.001).ROC analysis showed that the combined detection of PCT,IL-6 and CRP had diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 95.0%and 92.5%,respectively,with an area under the ROC curve(AUC)of 0.962,which was superior to any single marker.Correlation analysis showed that serum levels of PCT,IL-6 and CRP were positively correlated with disease severity(P＜0.001).Conclusion:Combined detection of serum PCT,IL-6 and CRP has high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing the pathogen type of pediatric pneumonia,and it is positively correlated with disease severity.This provides an effective method for evaluating both pathogen types and disease severity.