EARLY PREDICTIVE VALUE OF PRESEPSIN FOR SECONDARY SEPSIS AND MORTALITY IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT PATIENTS WITH SEVERE ACUTE PANCREATITIS

Purpose: Sepsis is the leading cause of death in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Early prediction of sepsis secondary to SAP developed in the late phase and of related mortality can enable appropriate treatment and improve outcomes. This study was conducted to evaluate the predictive value of presepsin in ICU patients with SAP at the early stage and compared it with established blood markers and scoring systems. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 48 septic patients and 53 nonseptic patients admitted to ICU with SAP. Presepsin and other blood markers (procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, IL-6, white blood cell, and serum creatinine) on days 1, 3, and 7 after enrollment as well as scoring systems were assessed to predict secondary sepsis. Outcomes were evaluated at ICU discharge and on days 28 and 90. Results: Presepsin levels (on days 1, 3, and 7) were significantly higher in septic patients than in nonseptic patients. Presepsin levels showed an increasing trend over time in both sepsis and nonsepsis groups, but concentrations increased more rapidly in the sepsis group than in the nonsepsis group. Among the analyzed biomarkers, presepsin was the only blood marker independently associated with sepsis secondary to SAP on days 3 and 7, and presepsin on day 3 was independently associated with mortality at ICU discharge and on days 28 and 90. It showed similar or even better predictive accuracy for both secondary sepsis and mortality than procalcitonin and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score. Conclusion: Presepsin could be a valuable early predictor of secondary sepsis and mortality in patients admitted to the ICU with SAP and may serve as an indicator for early risk stratification.