Biomarker Value in the Diagnosis of Community-Acquired Pneumonia with Concomitant Chronic Heart Failure

The diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with chronic heart failure (CHF) is associated with objective difficulties. Our case-control study aims to establish whether established serum inflammatory biomarkers are relevant to the diagnosis of CAP in patients with CHF. Seventy inpatients with previously diagnosed CHF and suspected non-severe CAP were recruited and then stratified into two subgroups with confirmed and rejected diagnosis of CAP. C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were measured. The value of biomarkers was determined using logistic regression, and their discriminatory efficacy was assessed by analyzing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Significantly higher levels of CRP 50.0 (35.5-98.5) mg/L, PCT 0.10 (0.05-0.54) ng/mL and IL-6 46.1(21.4-150.3) pg/mL in cases were identified as compared to the control group-15.0 (9.5-25.0) mg/L, 0.05 (0.05-0.05) ng/mL and 13.6 (9.5; 25.0) pg/mL, respectively. The Area Under the ROC Curve (95% CI) was the highest for CRP-0.91 (0.83-0.98), followed by PCT-0.81 (0.72-0.90) and IL-6-0.81 (0.71-0.91). A CRP value of >28.5 mg/L had an optimal sensitivity and specificity ratio (85.7/91.4%). In conclusion, the measurement of serum CRP, PCT and IL-6 levels can be useful for the diagnosis of CAP in patients with CHF. CRP showed optimal diagnostic utility in this population.

Automated summary

In this case-control study, serum levels of CRP, PCT, and IL-6 were found to be useful for diagnosing CAP in patients with CHF. Among these biomarkers, CRP showed the highest diagnostic utility in this population.