An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin

A 28-year-old female was admitted to hospital with a history of paracetamol overdose, a total of 18 g, 2 days prior to presentation. Other than nausea and mild abdominal pain she had no other symptoms and systemic examination was unremarkable. Laboratory tests showed slightly elevated liver enzymes...

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Main Authors: Uzma Sabahat, Liza Mariam Thomas, Niaz Ahmed Shaikh, Nageen Murad Ali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Knowledge E 2023-09-01
Series:Dubai Medical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://beta.karger.com/Article/FullText/533725
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author Uzma Sabahat
Liza Mariam Thomas
Niaz Ahmed Shaikh
Nageen Murad Ali
author_facet Uzma Sabahat
Liza Mariam Thomas
Niaz Ahmed Shaikh
Nageen Murad Ali
author_sort Uzma Sabahat
collection DOAJ
description A 28-year-old female was admitted to hospital with a history of paracetamol overdose, a total of 18 g, 2 days prior to presentation. Other than nausea and mild abdominal pain she had no other symptoms and systemic examination was unremarkable. Laboratory tests showed slightly elevated liver enzymes and significantly elevated procalcitonin level of 97 ng/mL (normal <0.05 ng/mL). This septic biomarker was alarmingly high, though the patient had no clinical features of infection, and C-reactive protein – the other routinely done marker of inflammation – was normal. She received treatment with N-acetylcysteine for paracetamol overdose. Other than slightly elevated liver enzymes, tests of liver function were essentially normal. All investigations for underlying infection were negative. She had a short uncomplicated 5-day hospital stay. Her procalcitonin levels improved spontaneously and were significantly reduced though not yet normal at the time of discharge.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2571-726X
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record_format Article
series Dubai Medical Journal
spelling doaj-art-6ab956d66fee4978894d46f11afb6d182025-01-02T21:50:45ZengKnowledge EDubai Medical Journal2571-726X2023-09-011510.1159/000533725533725An Unexpected Cause of Raised ProcalcitoninUzma Sabahat0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3910-1349Liza Mariam Thomas1Niaz Ahmed Shaikh2Nageen Murad Ali3Internal Medicine, Dubai Academic Health Corporation, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesInternal Medicine, Dubai Academic Health Corporation, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesInternal Medicine, Dubai Academic Health Corporation, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Gastroenterology, Dubai Academic Health Corporation, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesA 28-year-old female was admitted to hospital with a history of paracetamol overdose, a total of 18 g, 2 days prior to presentation. Other than nausea and mild abdominal pain she had no other symptoms and systemic examination was unremarkable. Laboratory tests showed slightly elevated liver enzymes and significantly elevated procalcitonin level of 97 ng/mL (normal <0.05 ng/mL). This septic biomarker was alarmingly high, though the patient had no clinical features of infection, and C-reactive protein – the other routinely done marker of inflammation – was normal. She received treatment with N-acetylcysteine for paracetamol overdose. Other than slightly elevated liver enzymes, tests of liver function were essentially normal. All investigations for underlying infection were negative. She had a short uncomplicated 5-day hospital stay. Her procalcitonin levels improved spontaneously and were significantly reduced though not yet normal at the time of discharge.https://beta.karger.com/Article/FullText/533725procalcitoninparacetamol toxicityliver injuryacetaminophen toxicity
spellingShingle Uzma Sabahat
Liza Mariam Thomas
Niaz Ahmed Shaikh
Nageen Murad Ali
An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin
Dubai Medical Journal
procalcitonin
paracetamol toxicity
liver injury
acetaminophen toxicity
title An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin
title_full An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin
title_fullStr An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin
title_full_unstemmed An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin
title_short An Unexpected Cause of Raised Procalcitonin
title_sort unexpected cause of raised procalcitonin
topic procalcitonin
paracetamol toxicity
liver injury
acetaminophen toxicity
url https://beta.karger.com/Article/FullText/533725
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AT uzmasabahat unexpectedcauseofraisedprocalcitonin
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