[Evaluation of measurement method of a bacterial sepsis marker, procalcitonin].

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a novel biomarker for diagnosis and severity evaluation of bacterial sepsis. PCT measurement methods provided by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. include a fully automated chemiluminescent immunoassay system SphereLight Wako and fully automated immunoanalyzer microTASWako i30 for a quantitative measurement, and immunochromatographic assay method, B R A H M S PCT-Q kit. This time, basic performance of SphereLight Wako and microTASWako i30 was evaluated as quantitative determination methods for PCT. The lower limit of detection for the both methods was 0.02 ng/ml. Correlation coefficients of 0.993 to 0.997 indicated good correlation between the two methods. The both methods allow quick and easy measurement of PCT, therefore they are helpful for diagnosis and severity evaluation of bacterial sepsis.