Abstract
AIM: Persons who inject drugs (PWID) are prone to bloodstream infections, but diagnosis is often delayed. This study evaluated the utility of admission serum procalcitonin for early detection of bacteremia. METHODS: A total of 131 adult male PWID admitted with suspected sepsis were prospectively enrolled. RESULTS: Bacteremia was confirmed in 52 (39.7%) cases, primarily due to Staphylococcus aureus and S. haemolyticus. Infective endocarditis was the leading diagnosis among bacteremic patients. Procalcitonin levels ≥0.51 ng/mL demonstrated high sensitivity (88.5%) and negative predictive value (82.9%), but low specificity (36.7%), resulting in limited diagnostic utility (area under the curve [AUC] 0.613). C-reactive protein (AUC 0.680) and serum albumin (AUC 0.723) outperformed procalcitonin. In-hospital mortality was 35.1%. CONCLUSION: Admission procalcitonin has limited diagnostic value for detecting bacteremia in PWID.