Multi-Marker Approach in Sepsis: A Clinical Role Beyond SOFA Score

TL;DR

This study shows that combining four sepsis biomarkers improves diagnosis and mortality prediction compared to the SOFA score, especially in older patients.

Contribution

The novel contribution is demonstrating the added clinical value of a multi-marker approach in sepsis beyond the SOFA score.

Findings

The multi-marker approach improved mortality prediction compared to the SOFA score.

Biomarker performance was stronger in patients aged ≥75 years.

Combining biomarkers increased sepsis detection rates significantly.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Procalcitonin (PCT), presepsin (PSEP), interferon-λ3 (IFN-λ3), and bioactive adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) are promising sepsis biomarkers. We explored the clinical utility of a multi-marker approach using these four biomarkers in patients with suspected sepsis. Materials and Methods: In a total of 248 patients, the biomarkers were evaluated with the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. Receiver operating characteristic curves with area under the curve (AUC) were analyzed to diagnose sepsis and predict in-hospital mortality. Survival and reclassification analyses were also used to predict in-hospital mortality. Results: The four biomarkers showed comparable diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.61–0.95, p < 0.001–0.003), and sepsis proportion increased significantly as the number of biomarkers used in the multi-marker approach increased (7.7–91.7%, p < 0.001). The proportion of biomarker quartiles (Q1–Q4) differed significantly according to SOFA score (p < 0.001). The four biomarkers predicted in-hospital mortality (AUC = 0.63–0.84, p < 0.001–0.004). The multi-marker approach performed better than the SOFA score (mortality rate, 58.3% vs. 31.3%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 14.7 vs. 4.6), and the addition of biomarkers to the SOFA score increased the performance. The multi-marker approach resulted in a higher HR in patients aged ≥75 years than in the overall population (9.2 vs. 4.2). Conclusions: Each biomarker showed clinical utility in patients with suspected sepsis. The multi-marker approach showed complementary clinical utility in addition to the SOFA score and better prognostic performance in patients aged ≥75 years. The use of biomarkers, alone or in combination, would be a valuable tool in combination with the SOFA score.

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