Procalcitonin Test
Reviewed
A procalcitonin test measures the level of procalcitonin in your blood. Normally, you have very low levels. A high level may be a sign of a serious bacterial infection or sepsis. The test helps find out whether bacteria or a virus is causing your infection and can guide treatment decisions, such as the need for antibiotics.
Preparation and collection
You don't need any special preparation for a procalcitonin test.
Understanding this test
Use the reference interval and units printed by the laboratory that performed the test. A result outside that interval is not a diagnosis by itself, and a result inside it does not rule out every condition. Your symptoms, history, medicines, timing, and related tests can change what the result means.
- A procalcitonin test won't show what type of bacteria is causing an infection. To make a full diagnosis, your provider will likely order other tests.
- Moderate to mildly high levels may be due to conditions other than infections, such as tissue damage from trauma, serious burns, recent surgery, or severe heart attack.
What to do next
Your healthcare provider will interpret your procalcitonin result along with other tests and your symptoms to guide your care. If you are being treated for a bacterial infection, decreasing or low procalcitonin levels mean that your treatment is working.