Combination of C‐reactive protein, procalcitonin, IL‐6, IL‐8, and IL‐10 for early diagnosis of hyperinflammatory state and organ dysfunction in pediatric sepsis

Background Although early diagnosis and management are critical for prognosis of pediatric sepsis, there are no specific diagnostic biomarkers for the hyperinflammatory state and organ dysfunction, important stages of sepsis. Methods We enrolled 129 children with infection into three groups: non‐sepsis infection (33), Sepsis 1.0 (hyperinflammatory state, 67), and Sepsis 3.0 (organ dysfunction, 29). Another 32 children with no infections were included as controls. Serum C‐reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, IL‐12p70, IL‐17, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interferon (IFN)‐α, and IFN‐γ were assessed to diagnose the two stages, and their diagnostic capacities were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We also examined whether combining biomarkers improved diagnostic efficiency. Results Significantly higher CRP, PCT, and IL‐6 levels were detected in the Sepsis 1.0 than the non‐sepsis infection group (p