Presepsin levels in COVİD-19 (+) patients

Aim: COVID-19, the causative agent of the disease, is a virus called SARS-CoV-2, which is highly contagious from person to person, was identified as the new variant of Coronavirus towards the end of 2019, and causes respiratory disease. Presepsin is a biomarker of inflammation caused by bacterial endotoxins and is used in the early diagnosis of serious infections such as septic shock. The aim of this study is to evaluate the presepsin biomarker for COVID-19 patients and compare it with C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (PCT) values. Materials and Methods: A total of 124 participants were included in this study, including 30 uncomplicated patients with COVID-19 (+) according to the PCR test, 32 with symptoms and hospitalized in the ward, 32 with pneumonia and 30 healthy control groups with PCR test (-). Presepsin levels in serum samples obtained from blood samples taken from individuals were measured using an ELISA kit. Results: Presepsin level was found to be significantly higher in the COVID-19 patient group compared to the control group. Presepsin levels were found to be high in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, especially in intensive care patients. Additionally, presepsin levels were found to be positively correlated with CRP and the AUC value was found to be 0.784 (p: 0.044) in the ROC analysis. Conclusion: In the current study, it was concluded that presepsis is not as successful as other markers in the diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19, but it will be very useful when evaluated together with CRP in the severity and monitoring of the disease. Keywords: CRP, COVID-19, Presepsin.