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Differentiating between serious bacterial infection and minor viral illness in febrile infants is often difficult. To date, no single laboratory test or combination of tests has proven sensitive and specific enough for identifying young infants with infections that require admission and antibiotic treatment. Investigators retrospectively evaluated the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) levels in 1112 well-appearing infants (age, <3 months) who presented with fever without a source to emergency departments at seven Spanish and Italian hospitals during a 3-year period.
The infants underwent urine dipstick testing, blood and urine culture, measurement of white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin levels. If indicated, lu…