Vasopressin and copeptin levels in children with sepsis and septic shock

Purpose Levels of vasopressin and its precursor copeptin in pediatric sepsis and septic shock are not well defined. The main aim of this study is to compare the serum levels of vasopressin and copeptin in children with septic shock or sepsis and in healthy children. We hypothesized that vasopressin and copeptin levels are elevated in early and late stages of pediatric septic shock. Methods Three groups were included: healthy children, children with clinical diagnosis of sepsis, and children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with diagnosis of sepsis shock. Blood samples were drawn from children in all groups within 24 h of admission. For the septic shock group, additional samples at 24-h intervals were drawn up to 120 h after PICU admission. We used competitive immunoassays to determine vasopressin and copeptin levels. Results There were 70 children in the control group, 53 children in the sepsis group, and 13 in the septic shock group. At baseline, there was a difference in median vasopressin levels [60.9 (Interquartile range: 32.3, 138.0) vs. 141.1 (45.2, 542) vs. 326 (55.6, 399) pg/mL, p