Background: Serum procalcitonin is a useful biomarker in establishing the presence of bacterial infections and has been used in algorithms to guide antibiotic treatment among adults. It role in pediatric infections, however, remains unclear. Objectives: This research aims to evaluate the impact of serum procalcitonin in guiding antibiotic therapy among pediatric patients with suspected local or systemic infections. Methodology: Randomized controlled trials comparing procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy to clinically guided therapy in pediatric patients with local or systemic infections were searched through MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, HERDIN and ClinicalTrials.gov. Hand search in various search engines was also done. Outcomes included antibiotic usage, morbidity and mortality. Two reviewers independently assessed potentially relevant studies. Statistical analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 using inverse variance weighting and random effects model. Results: Five randomized controlled trials were included. Overall, there was a reduction in antibiotic prescription rate in the procalcitonin group compared to controls for all groups (RD -0.13, 95% CI [-021,0.06]; p <0.00001), however, pooled studies were heterogenous. Subgroup analysis showed that for children with pneumonia, procalcitonin guidance significantly reduced antibiotic prescription rate (RD – 012,95% CI [-021,0.04]; p <0.005 ), and may have potential in reducing the duration of therapy (95% CI [-6.8,2,54], p <0.0001) and antibiotic-related adverse effects (RD- 0.17, 95% CI[-0.24,-0.10], p<0.00001) compared to controls. In one study on neonates with early onset sepsis, procalcitonin guidance reduced antibiotic prescription rate by 27% (p=0.0009) and duration of therapy by 22.4 hours (p=0.0009). Procalcitonin guidance has no significant impact on antibiotic prescription rate in children with fever without a source (RD -0.11, 95% CI[0.28,0.05], p=0.190). Conclusion Procalcitonin guidance significantly reduces antibiotic prescription rate among children with pneumonia and neonates with early onset sepsis. It has the potential in reducing the duration of antibiotic therapy and antibiotic-related side effects in these populations. ON the other hand, it had no impact among children with fever without a source. These results highlight the need for algorithm-based approaches using procalcitonin cut-off values to guide antibiotic therapy in children.
Procalcitonin ; Neonatal Sepsis

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation of dynamic change in serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level with the disease severity and related laboratory markers in infants/toddlers with severe pneumonia. METHODS: A total of 132 infants/toddlers with severe pneumonia who were hospitalized between March 2017 and March 2018 were enrolled as the severe pneumonia group. According to the disease severity on admission and after one week of treatment, they were further divided into non-critical group (41 children on admission and 78 after one week of treatment), critical group (59 children on admission and 35 after one week of treatment), and extremely critical group (32 children on admission and 19 after one week of treatment). A total of 142 infants/toddlers who underwent physical examination during the same period of time were enrolled as the healthy control group. The serum levels of 25(OH)D, procalcitonin (PCT), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured on admission and after one week of treatment for the severe pneumonia group, and the serum level of 25(OH)D was measured on admission for the healthy control group. According to the 25(OH)D level after one week of treatment, the children with severe pneumonia were divided into increased vitamin D (VD) group with 81 children and reduced VD group with 51 children, and a comparative analysis and a correlation analysis were performed. RESULTS: The severe pneumonia group had a significantly lower mean 25(OH)D level than the healthy control group (P<0.05), and all the three subgroups of different severities had significantly lower 25(OH)D level than the healthy control group (P<0.05). On admission and after one week of treatment, the non-critical group had a significantly higher 25(OH)D level than the critical and extremely critical groups (P<0.01), and the critical group had a significantly higher 25(OH)D level than the extremely critical group (P<0.05). The extremely critical and critical groups had significantly higher serum levels of PCT and NT-proBNP than the non-critical group on admission and after one week of treatment (P<0.05). After one week of treatment, compared with the reduced VD group, the increased VD group had a significantly less serious condition. At discharge, the increased VD group had a significantly better outcome compared with the reduced VD group (P<0.01). In the children with severe pneumonia, the change value of serum 25(OH)D level after treatment was negatively correlated with the change values of PCT and NT-proBNP (r=-0.597 and -0.404 respectively; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The change in VD level is correlated with the severity of severe pneumonia in infants/toddlers and can be used as an index for disease monitoring. VD supplementation may help with disease recovery.
Calcifediol ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Infant ; Pneumonia ; Procalcitonin ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency

OBJECTIVE: To explore the significance of neutrophil CD64 (nCD64), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and procalcitonin (PCT) alone and in combination in the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of patients with sepsis. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted. Adult patients admitted to the Western Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Qingdao University from September 2020 to October 2021 were selected as subjects. The venous blood of the selected patients was collected within 6 hours of entering the ICU to measure the levels of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT. The levels of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT of septic patients were measured again on the 3rd and 7th days after admission to ICU. According to the diagnostic criteria of Sepsis-3, the patients were divided into sepsis group and non-sepsis group to evaluate the diagnostic value of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT in sepsis. The patients with sepsis were divided into sepsis group and septic shock group according to their condition on admission to ICU, and the evaluation value of three biomarkers for sepsis was evaluated. Sepsis patients were divided into the survival group and the death group according to survival after 28 days, and the relationship between the three biomarkers and the prognosis of sepsis was evaluated. RESULTS: Finally, 47 patients with sepsis, 43 patients with septic shock, and 41 patients without sepsis were enrolled. Seventy-six patients with sepsis survived and 14 died after 28 days. (1) The levels of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT on the first day of ICU admission in the sepsis group were significantly higher than those in the non-sepsis group [nCD64: 26.95 (14.05, 86.18) vs. 3.10 (2.55, 5.10), IL-6 (ng/L): 93.45 (52.73, 246.30) vs. 34.00 (9.76, 62.75), PCT (μg/L): 6.63 (0.57, 68.50) vs. 0.16 (0.08, 0.35), all P < 0.01]. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) showed that the area under curve (AUC) of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT in the diagnosis of sepsis were 0.945, 0.792 and 0.888, respectively. The diagnostic value of nCD64 was the highest. When the cut-off value of nCD64 was 7.45, the sensitivity and specificity were 92.2% and 95.1% respectively. When nCD64, IL-6 and PCT were diagnosed in pairs or in combination, the combination of the three had the highest diagnostic performance, with AUC of 0.973, sensitivity of 92.2% and specificity of 97.6%. (2) The levels of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT in septic shock group were higher than those in sepsis group on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day after admission to ICU. ROC curve analysis showed that nCD64, IL-6 and PCT had some accuracy in evaluating the severity of sepsis on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day after entering ICU, with AUC ranging from 0.682 to 0.777. (3) The levels of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group. Except for the nCD64 and PCT values on the first day after admission to the ICU, there were significant differences between the two groups in all indicators at other time points. ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT predicting the prognosis of sepsis at each time point ranged from 0.600 to 0.981. The clearance rates of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT at 3 and 7 days after ICU admission were calculated by dividing the difference between the 1st and 3rd or 7th days after entering the ICU by the value at the 1st day. Logistic regression was used to analyze their predictive value for the prognosis of sepsis. The results showed that the clearance rates of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT on the 3rd and 7th day of ICU were protective factors for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis, except the clearance rate of IL-6 on the 7th day. CONCLUSIONS nCD64, IL-6 and PCT have good value as biomarkers for the diagnosis of sepsis. The diagnostic value of nCD64 is higher than that of PCT and IL-6. When they are used together, the diagnostic value is the highest. nCD64, IL-6 and PCT have certain value in evaluating the severity and predicting the prognosis of patients with sepsis. The higher the clearance rate of nCD64, IL-6 and PCT, the lower the 28-day mortality risk of patients with sepsis.
Adult ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Shock, Septic ; Prognosis ; Procalcitonin ; Neutrophils ; Prospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Intensive Care Units

OBJECTIVE: To explore the changes of serum procalcitonin (PCT) level in patients with moderate and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and try to find out the best cut-off of PCT to predict the progression to moderate and severe ARDS. METHODS: Medical records of patients undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB in Fujian Provincial Hospital from January 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Adult patients who were admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) for more than 1 day and had PCT values on the first postoperative day were enrolled. Clinical data such as patient demographics, past history, diagnosis, and New York Heart Association (HYHA) classification, and the operation mode, procedure duration, CPB duration, aortic clamp duration, intraoperative fluid balance, calculation of 24 hours postoperative fluid balance and vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS); 24 hours postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP), N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide precursor (NT-proBNP) and PCT levels were collected. Two clinicians independently made the diagnosis of ARDS according to the Berlin definition, and the diagnosis was established only in patients with a consistent diagnosis. The differences in each parameter were compared between patients with moderate to severe ARDS and those without or with mild ARDS. Analysis of the ability of PCT to predict moderate to severe ARDS was evaluated by receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve). Multivariate Logistic regression was conducted to determine the risk factors of the development of moderate to severe ARDS. RESULTS: 108 patients were finally enrolled, including 37 patients with mild ARDS (34.3%), 35 patients with moderate ARDS (32.4%), 2 patients with severe ARDS (1.9%), and 34 patients without ARDS. Compared with patients with no or mild ARDS, patients with moderate to severe ARDS were older (years old: 58.5±11.1 vs. 52.8±14.8, P < 0.05), with a higher proportion of combined hypertension [45.9% (17/37) vs. 25.4% (18/71), P < 0.05], longer operative time (minutes: 363.2±120.6 vs. 313.5±97.6, P < 0.05), and higher mortality (8.1% vs. 0, P < 0.05), but there were no differences in the VIS score, incidence of acute renal failure (ARF), CPB duration, aortic clamp duration, and intraoperative bleeding, transfusion volume, and fluid balance between the two groups. Serum PCT and NT-proBNP levels in patients with moderate to severe ARDS at postoperative day 1 were significantly higher than those in patients with no or mild ARDS [PCT (μg/L): 16.33 (6.96, 32.56) vs. 2.21 (0.80, 5.76), NT-proBNP (ng/L): 2 405.0 (1 543.0, 6 456.5) vs. 1 680.0 (1 388.0, 4 667.0), both P < 0.05]. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for PCT to predict the occurrence of moderate to severe ARDS was 0.827 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.739-0.915, P < 0.05]. When PCT cut-off value was 7.165 μg/L, the sensitivity was 75.7% and the specificity was 84.5%, for differentiating patients who developed moderate to severe ARDS from who did not. Multivariate Logistic regression showed that age and the elevated PCT concentration were independent risk factors for the development of moderate to severe ARDS [age: odds ratio (OR) = 1.105, 95%CI was 1.037-1.177, P = 0.002; PCT: OR = 48.286, 95%CI was 10.282-226.753, P < 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS Patients with moderate to severe ARDS undergoing CPB cardiac surgery have a higher serum concentration of PCT than patients with no or mild ARDS. Serum PCT level may be a promising biomarker to predict the development of moderate to severe ARDS, the cut-off value is 7.165 μg/L.
Adult ; Humans ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Procalcitonin ; Retrospective Studies ; Heart ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To compare the ability of the step-by-step approach and the lab-score method in early identification of non-bacterial infection in febrile infants with less than 90 days old. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted. The febrile infants with less than 90 days old hospitalized in the department of pediatrics of Xuzhou Central Hospital from August 2019 to November 2021 were enrolled. The basic data of the infants were recorded. The infants with high risk or low risk of bacterial infection was evaluated by the step-by-step approach and the lab-score method, respectively. The step-by-step approach was based on clinical manifestations, age, blood neutrophil absolute value or C-reactive protein (CRP), urine white blood cells, blood venous blood procalcitonin (PCT) or interleukin-6 (IL-6) to gradually assess the high risk or low risk of bacterial infection in infants with fever. The lab-score method was based on the levels of laboratory indicators such as blood PCT, CRP and urine white blood cells, which were assigned different scores to evaluate the high risk or low risk of bacterial infection in febrile infants according to the total score. Using clinical bacterial culture results as the "gold standard", the negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), negative likelihood ratio, positive likelihood ratio, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the two methods were calculated. The consistency of the two evaluation methods was tested by Kappa. RESULTS: A total of 246 patients were enrolled in the analysis, and ultimately confirmed by bacterial culture as non-bacterial infections in 173 cases (70.3%), bacterial infection in 72 cases (29.3%), and unclear in 1 case (0.4%). There were 105 cases with low risk evaluated by the step-by-step approach, and 98 cases (93.3%) were ultimately confirmed as non-bacterial infection; 181 cases with low risk evaluated by the lab-score method, and 140 cases (77.4%) were ultimately confirmed as non-bacterial infection. The consistency of the two evaluation methods was poor (Kappa value = 0.253, P < 0.001). The ability of the step-by-step approach in early identification of non-bacterial infection in febrile infants with less than 90 days old was superior to the lab-score method (NPV: 0.933 vs. 0.773, negative likelihood ratio: 5.835 vs. 1.421), but the sensitivity of the former was lower than that of the latter (0.566 vs. 0.809). The ability of the step-by-step approach in early identification of bacterial infection in febrile infants with less than 90 days old was similar to the lab-score method (PPV: 0.464 vs. 0.484, positive likelihood ratio: 0.481 vs. 0.443), but the specificity of the former was higher than that of the latter (0.903 vs. 0.431). The overall accuracy of the step-by-step approach and the lab-score method was similar (66.5% vs. 69.8%). CONCLUSIONS The ability of the step-by-step approach in early identification of non-bacterial infections in febrile infants with less than 90 days old is superior to the lab-score method.
Humans ; Infant ; Child ; Prospective Studies ; Bacterial Infections ; C-Reactive Protein ; Hospitals ; Interleukin-6 ; Procalcitonin

Objective To explore the factors related to tympanic membrane perforation in children with acute suppurative otitis media,and to provide reference for clinical practice. Methods We reviewed the clinical data of 1274 children with acute suppurative otitis media from February 2017 to May 2020,and analyzed the factors related to tympanic membrane perforation. Results Tympanic membrane perforation occurred in 67 out of the 1274 children with acute suppurative otitis media,with the incidence of 5.27%.The univariate analysis showed that 11 factors including the duration of onset(
Child ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Otitis Media, Suppurative/complications* ; Procalcitonin ; Risk Factors ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation/etiology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with sepsis and to construct a risk nomogram model. METHODS: The clinical data of 234 sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Tianjin Hospital from January 2019 to May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into non-ARDS group (156 cases) and ARDS group (78 cases) according to the presence or absence of ARDS. The gender, age, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, smoking history, history of alcoholism, temperature, respiratory rate (RR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulmonary infection, white blood cell count (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), platelet count (PLT), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), D-dimer, oxygenation index (PaO₂/FiO₂), lactic acid (Lac), procalcitonin (PCT), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors of sepsis related ARDS. Based on the screened independent risk factors, a nomogram prediction model was constructed, and Bootstrap method was used for internal verification. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to verify the prediction and accuracy of the model. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in gender, age, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, smoking history, alcoholism history, temperature, WBC, Hb, PLT, PT, APTT, FIB, PCT, BNP and SCr between the two groups. There were significant differences in RR, MAP, pulmonary infection, D-dimer, PaO₂/FiO₂, Lac, ALB, BUN, APACHE II score and SOFA score (all P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that increased RR, low MAP, pulmonary infection, high Lac and high APACHE II score were independent risk factors for sepsis related ARDS [RR: odds ratio (OR) = 1.167, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.019-1.336; MAP: OR = 0.962, 95%CI was 0.932-0.994; pulmonary infection: OR = 0.428, 95%CI was 0.189-0.966; Lac: OR = 1.684, 95%CI was 1.036-2.735; APACHE II score: OR = 1.577, 95%CI was 1.202-2.067; all P < 0.05]. Based on the above independent risk factors, a risk nomograph model was established to predict sepsis related ARDS (accuracy was 81.62%, sensitivity was 66.67%, specificity was 89.10%). The predicted values were basically consistent with the measured values, and the AUC was 0.866 (95%CI was 0.819-0.914). CONCLUSIONS Increased RR, low MAP, pulmonary infection, high Lac and high APACHE II score are independent risk factors for sepsis related ARDS. Establishment of a risk nomograph model based on these factors may guide to predict the risk of ARDS in sepsis patients.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Alcoholism ; Prognosis ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome ; Pneumonia ; Sepsis ; Intensive Care Units ; Procalcitonin ; Fibrinogen ; ROC Curve

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂), procalcitonin (PCT) combined with ROX index in predicting the timing of tracheal intubation in patients with acute severe pancreatitis (SAP). METHODS: A case-control study was conducted. A total of 148 patients with SAP admitted to Hunan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2022 were selected as the research objects. According to whether endotracheal intubation was used after admission during hospitalization, the patients were divided into the intubation group (102 cases) and non-intubation group (46 cases). Gender, age, white blood cell count (WBC), lymphocyte count (LYM), platelet count (PLT), C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin (Hb), PCT, PaO₂, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂), arterial bicarbonate ion (HCO₃^-) 1 day after admission, arterial lactic acid (Lac), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), pulse oxygen saturation (SpO₂), oxygenation index (PaO₂/FiO₂), blood pressure, worst ROX index (ROX index = SpO₂/FiO₂/RR) within 30 minutes of admission and 30 minutes before intubation of the two groups were measured. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors for the timing of endotracheal intubation in patients with SAP. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to determine the optimal predictive cut-off value for endotracheal intubation. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, gender, WBC, LYM, CRP, Hb, LDH, HR and blood pressure at admission between the two groups. The PLT, Lac, PCT and RR in the intubation group were significantly higher than those in the un-intubation group, and HCO₃^-, PaO₂, SpO₂, PaO₂/FiO₂, the worst ROX index within 30 minutes after admission and 30 minutes before intubation were significantly lower than those in the non-intubation group (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the worst ROX index within 30 minutes before intubation was the largest negative influencing factor for the timing of tracheal intubation in SAP patients [odds ratio (OR) = 0.723, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.568-0.896, P = 0.000], followed by PaO₂ (OR = 0.872, 95%CI was 0.677-1.105, P < 0.001). PCT was the positive influencing factor (OR = 1.605, 95%CI was 1.240-2.089, P < 0.001). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of PaO₂, PCT, the worst ROX index within 30 minutes before intubation and the combination to evaluate the tracheal intubation time of patients with SAP were 0.715, 0.702, 0.722 and 0.808, the sensitivity was 78.1%, 75.0%, 81.5% and 89.3%, the specificity was 66.7%, 59.0%, 73.2% and 86.4%, and the best cut-off value was 60.23 mmHg (1 mmHg ≈ 0.133 kPa), 2.72 μg/L, 4.85, and 0.58, respectively. The AUC of the combination of PaO₂, PCT and the worst ROX index within 30 minutes before intubation predicted the timing of tracheal intubation in patients with SAP was significantly greater than using each index alone (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The worst ROX index within 30 minutes before intubation combined with PaO₂ and PCT is helpful for clinicians to make a decision for tracheal intubation in patients with SAP.
Humans ; Procalcitonin ; Oxygen ; Case-Control Studies ; Partial Pressure ; Retrospective Studies ; Pancreatitis/therapy* ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve

OBJECTIVES: To study the value of heparin-binding protein (HBP) in the diagnosis of severe infection in children. METHODS: This study was a prospective observational study. The medical data of children who were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit due to infection from January 2019 to January 2020 were collected. According to the diagnostic criteria for severe sepsis and sepsis, the children were divided into a severe sepsis group with 49 children, a sepsis group with 82 children, and a non-severe infection group with 33 children. The three groups were compared in terms of related biomarkers such as plasma HBP, serum C-reactive protein, serum procalcitonin, and platelet count. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to investigate the value of plasma HBP level in the diagnosis of severe infection (including severe sepsis and sepsis). RESULTS: The severe sepsis and sepsis groups had a significantly higher plasma HBP level on admission than the non-severe infection group (P<0.05). Compared with the sepsis and non-severe groups, the severe sepsis group had significantly higher serum levels of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin and a significantly lower platelet count (P<0.05). Plasma HBP level had an area under the ROC curve of 0.590 in determining severe infection, with a sensitivity of 38.0% and a specificity of 82.4% (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is an increase in plasma HBP level in children with severe infection, and plasma HBP level has a lower sensitivity but a higher specificity in the diagnosis of severe infection and can thus be used as one of the markers for the judgment of severe infection in children.
Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; Biomarkers ; Blood Proteins ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis* ; Child ; Humans ; Procalcitonin ; Prospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Sepsis/diagnosis*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of Dachengqi decoction in the treatment of sepsis complication with gastrointestinal dysfunction via gastric antrum cross-sectional area (CSA) measured by bedside ultrasound. METHODS: A parallel group randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 80 patients with sepsis with gastrointestinal dysfunction admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to October 2022 were enrolled. According to whether patients agree to use Dachengqi decoction after admission, all patients were divided into Dachengqi decoction group (observation group) and conventional treatment group (control group) by 1 : 1 randomization, each group has 40 patients. Both groups were treated with fluid resuscitation, anti-infection, maintaining stable respiratory circulation, early nourishing feeding, promoting gastrointestinal motility, and regulating intestinal flora. The observation group was treated with Dachengqi decoction on the basis of western medicine, 30 mL decoction was taken in the morning and evening. Both groups were treated for 7 days. The CSA of the two groups was measured by bedside ultrasound before and after treatment. The gastric residual volume (GRV1 and GRV2) were calculated by formula and traditional gastric tube withdrawal method. The gastrointestinal dysfunction score, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), intraperitoneal pressure (IAP), serum preprotein (PA), albumin (Alb), white blood cell count (WBC), procalcitonin (PCT), hypersensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and incidence of aspiration were detected to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Dachengqi decoction, the correlation and advantages and disadvantages between CSA measured by bedside ultrasound and other evaluation indicators of gastrointestinal dysfunction in sepsis were also analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the indicators before treatment between the two groups, which were comparable. In comparison with the pre-treatment period, CSA, GRV, gastrointestinal dysfunction score, APACHE II score, IAP, WBC, PCT, and hs-CRP of the two groups after treatment were significantly decreased, PA and Alb were significantly increased, and the observation group decreased or increased more significantly than the control group [CSA (cm²): 4.53±1.56 vs. 6.04±2.52, GRV1 (mL): 39.85±8.21 vs. 53.05±11.73, GRV2 (mL): 29.22±5.20 vs. 40.91±8.97, gastrointestinal dysfunction score: 0.87±0.19 vs. 1.35±0.26, APACHE II score: 11.54±3.43 vs. 14.28±3.07, IAP (cmH₂O, 1 cmH₂O ≈ 0.098 kPa): 9.79±2.01 vs. 13.30±2.73, WBC (×10⁹/L): 9.35±1.24 vs. 12.35±1.36, PCT (μg/L): 3.68±1.12 vs. 6.43±1.45, hs-CRP (mg/L): 24.76±5.41 vs. 46.76±6.38, PA (mg/L): 370.29±45.89 vs. 258.33±34.58, Alb (g/L): 38.83±5.64 vs. 33.20±4.98, all P < 0.05]. The length of ICU stay (days: 10.56±3.19 vs. 14.24±3.45) and incidence of aspiration (12.5% vs. 25.0%) were lower than those in the control group (both P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that CSA measured by bedside ultrasound was positively correlated with GRV2, gastrointestinal dysfunction score, APACHE II score, and IAP (r values were 0.84, 0.78, 0.75, 0.72, all P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with PA and Alb (r values were -0.64 and -0.62, both P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The Dachengqi decoction can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of septic patients with gastrointestinal dysfunction, reduce systemic inflammatory response, improve nutritional status, and shorten ICU hospital stay. Bedside ultrasound monitoring of CSA is a simple, accurate and effective means to evaluate gastrointestinal dysfunction, which is worthy of further clinical promotion.
Humans ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis* ; Pyloric Antrum ; Sepsis/therapy* ; Plant Extracts ; Procalcitonin ; Albumins ; Prognosis ; Intensive Care Units ; Retrospective Studies