Decoy Receptor 3 as a Biomarker for Diagnosis of Bacterial Sepsis

Subjects and Methods: The present study included 30 patients and 15 healthy controls, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) group. Serum DcR3 level was measured by quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), sepsis was identified by positive blood culture results, SIRS group were identified by negative blood culture or negative 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was performed for DcR3 and C reactive protein (CRP) alone and in combination. Results: The serum DcR3 level was significantly higher in sepsis patients than SIRS patients and healthy controls (5.21 ± 2.28 ng/mL, 1.96 ± 0.90 ng/mL, and 0.95 ± 0.79 ng/mL, respectively, p < 0.001). The ROC area under the curve (AUC) of DcR3 for sepsis vs. SIRS was 0.920 at a cutoff of 2.4 ng/mL, with a sensitivity and specificity of 93.33% and 86.67%, respectively. The AUC of combined positive DcR3 and positive CRP for sepsis vs. SIRS was 0.967 with a sensitivity and specificity of 93.33% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that DcR3, alone or in combination with other biomarkers, is promising for distinguishing sepsis from SIRS patients.