31. Aug 2023 | 18 min read
At the 11th Weimar Sepsis Update on September 06-08th the German Sepsis Society spotlights the situation of the critical care community that has been confronted with the Corona pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 as a new pathogen has expanded the diverse range of sepsis pathogens.
Meet Gentian Diagnostics at booth #34 to learn more about plasma and serum calprotectin in severe infections and sepsis, including severe form of COVID-19.
Gentian Diagnostics has developed a calprotectin immunoassay - GCAL® - for quantitative determination of calprotectin in plasma and serum intended as an aid in detection and assessment of inflammation and inflammatory response to infections.
The value of plasma and serum calprotectin has been investigated in several studies performed in emergency departments (ED) and intensive care units (ICU), focusing on the biomarker's role in diagnosis and assessment of disease severity, as well as in prediction of clinical deterioration. Several studies with the GCAL® assay have been published with focus on bacterial infections, sepsis and COVID-19.
Plasma calprotectin as an indicator of need of transfer to intensive care in patients with suspected sepsis at the emergency department.
Parke Å et al. BMC Emerg Med. 2023
Analysis of Calprotectin as an Early Marker of Infections Is Economically Advantageous in Intensive Care-Treated Patients.
Havelka A et al. Biomedicines. 2023
Calprotectin is superior to procalcitonin as a sepsis marker and predictor of 30-day mortality in intensive care patients.
Larsson A et al. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2020
Calprotectin as an early biomarker of bacterial infections in critically ill patients: an exploratory cohort assessment.
Jonsson N et al. J. Crit Care Resusc. 2017
Circulating levels of calprotectin, a signature of neutrophil activation in prediction of severe respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients: a multicenter, prospective study (CalCov study).
García de Guadiana-Romualdo L et al. Inflamm Res. 2022
Outcome prediction by serum calprotectin in patients with COVID-19 in the emergency department.
Bauer W et al. J Infect. 2021
Circulating levels of GDF-15 and calprotectin for prediction of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients: A case series
Luis García de Guadiana Romualdo et al. J Infect. 2021
The biomarker calprotectin is an inflammatory and anti-microbial protein released by neutrophils in response to infection. The biomarker has shown to increase in bacterial infections within only a few hours.1
Elevated calprotectin levels can predict severe events, clinical course, and mortality in septic patients2-5 and improve classical risk scoring.6 Early detection and risk stratification at the emergency department can thereby help to identify patients at risk for deterioration and guide decisions on course of treatment and necessary transfer of patients to ICU.7 This makes calprotectin an early and sensitive biomarker, and an ideal candidate for assessment of risk for severe infections and sepsis.
Calprotectin has shown to be able to distinguish between viral and bacterial infection8-10, which can aid in decision making and the course of treatment and antibiotic use. Importantly, calprotectin can predict bacterial infections even before the appearance of clinical symptoms.11 Consequently, measuring calprotectin can reduce total costs, shorten the average duration of in-patient care, and lower mortality rates.12
In this recording Dr. Wolfgang Bauer, PI of the trial with title “Calprotectin in Acute Infections and Sepsis for Prognosis, Characterisation and Diagnosis in the Emergency Department” (CASCADE-Trial) presents results from the study and discuss the value of calprotectin for diagnosis and management of acute infections and sepsis in the ED.
SARS-CoV-2 has been described to cause viral sepsis13-16, and the reported diagnostic value of calprotectin in SARS-CoV-2 infection is related to the hyperinflammatory response in severe COVID-19 leading to viral sepsis.13-26 Calprotectin levels are elevated in severe compared to mild cases and has been demonstrated to correlate with and predict various clinical outcomes, such as oxygenation status, mechanical ventilation need, ICU admission, multiorgan failure (MOF), and mortality.19-25,27
Neutrophils are upregulated and activated in COVID-19 patients as potential driver of disease severity.28-30 Hospitalised COVID-19 patients with severe form of the disease show dysregulated immune response and induction of cytokine response (also called cytokine storm or hyperinflammation), which is a reaction very similar to bacterial sepsis.18,30-32
Following the pathology of neutrophil activation and hyperinflammation in COVID-19, it is conceivable that calprotectin is a sensitive risk marker both in the viral infection resulting in severe COVID-19 and bacterial infections. Calprotectin’s value lies within an early risk assessment and prediction of severe events, and thereby aid to prevent developing sepsis.
The GCAL® assay is intended for quantitative determination of calprotectin in plasma and serum as an aid in detection and assessment of inflammation and inflammatory response to infections. GCAL® is a novel Particle-Enhanced Turbidimetric Immunoassay (PETIA) that can be applied on a wide range of automated clinical chemistry analysers.
The GCAL® immunoassay is developed and manufactured by Gentian. GCAL® is CE-marked and IVDR certified. The assay might not be registered for use in your country of residence and may not comply with applicable laws or regulations in that country. The assay is not cleared for use in the USA (RUO only).
Explore GCAL® at your hospital and clinical practice - fill out the form or send an email to marketing@gentian.com for more information about the product and validation.
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At the 11th Weimar Sepsis Update on September 06-08th the German Sepsis Society spotlights the situation of..