The diagnostic role of markers of acute inflammatory response in influenza in pregnant women
The objective. To study the role of markers of acute inflammatory response for early diagnosis of bacterial complications in influenza in pregnant women. Patients and methods. 125 pregnant women with influenza were examined, among them 85 with a smooth course of disease and 40 with the complication of community-acquired pneumonia. Acute phase proteins of inflammation were investigated: С-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), lactoferrin (LF). Results. The reference values of blood levels of CRP., LF and PCT in pregnant women were detected. In the group of patients with influenza, CRP levels were below 18.0 mg/l (9.62 ± 1.0 mg/l), LF levels below 2200 ng/ml (1918.35 ± 116.03 ng/ml), PCT concentrations did not exceed 0.5 ng/ml. Viral infection complicated by pneumonia was charactgerized by changes in CRP levels above 24.0 mg/l (47.5 ± 6.2 mg/l), LF - above 4500 ng/ml (3297.5 ± 604.12 ng/ml), PCT - above 0.5 ng/ml. In some cases, the results of detection of CRP and/or LF concentrations were intermediate (18.0-24.0 mg/l and 1700-2200 ng/ml, respectively) and did not permit to determine the character of inflammation. In such cases, it was considered expedient to perform blood PCT test, which did not produce ambiguous results. The sensitivity of detecting blood serum CRP was 80-82.2%, LCP - 90-93.3%, PCT - 100%. Conclusion. Detection of the levels of markers of acute inflammatory response in pregnant women permits to determine distinct criteria for differentiation of pure respiratory viral infection and secondary bacterial pneumonia.