Serum Procalcitonin as a Useful Serologic Marker for Differential Diagnosis between Acute Gouty Attack and Bacterial Infection

Patients with gout are similar to those with bacterial infection in terms of the nature of inflammation. Herein we compared the differences in procalcitonin (PCT) levels between these two inflammatory conditions and evaluated the ability of serum PCT to function as a clinical marker for differential diagnosis between acute gouty attack and bacterial infection. Serum samples were obtained from 67 patients with acute gouty arthritis and 90 age-matched patients with bacterial infection. Serum PCT levels were measured with an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay. Serum PCT levels in patients with acute gouty arthritis were significantly lower than those in patients with bacterial infection (0.096±0.105 ng/mL vs. 4.94±13.763 ng/mL, p=0.001). However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels showed no significant differences between the two groups. To assess the ability of PCT to discriminate between acute gouty arthritis and bacterial infection, the areas under the curves (AUCs) of serum PCT, uric acid, and CRP were 0.857 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.798-0.917, p