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Table 6 Sensitivity and specificity of combinations of WHO criteria and serum procalcitonin for diagnosis of pneumonia considering any abnormality on chest X-ray as gold standard for pneumonia

From: Role of procalcitonin in diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in Children

Characteristics

Sensitivity

Specificity

Existing WHO criteria, n = 1273

331/586 (56.5)

455/687 (66.2)

Existing WHO criteria + Serum procalcitonin levels > 0.5 ng/mL, n = 337

55/209 (26.3)

114/128 (89.1)

Existing WHO criteria and/or Serum procalcitonin levels > 0.5 ng/mL; n = 1273

338/586 (57.7)

453/687 (65.9)

Existing WHO criteria + ve,

Serum procalcitonin levels > 0.5 ng/mL, applied serially, n = 297a

55/186 (29.6)

97/111 (87.4)

  1. Values are expressed as n(%)
  2. afirst the children were classified into pneumonia or no pneumonia according to WHO criteria; in children who had pneumonia by WHO criteria, serum procalcitonin levels (PCT) were used to determine presence or absence of pneumonia ( PCT > 0.5 ng/mL: pneumonia, PCT <  = 0.5 ng/mL: no pneumonia)
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BMC Pediatrics

ISSN: 1471-2431

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