Serum procalcitonin levels in patients with ulcerative skin lesions

Introduction. The problem of ulcerative skin lesions is urgent due to chronicity, severe course, resistance to basic methods of therapy and a decrease in the quality of life of patients. According to statistics, among skin diseases, ulcerative lesions of various etiologies account for about 11.4-14.7 %. Aim of the study. To assess serum procalcitonin levels in the clinical course of ulcerative skin lesions. Patients and methods. We observed 44 patients with ulcerative skin lesions aged 11 to 57 years. The level of procalcitonin was measured in all patients using immunofluorescence assay. The control group included 23 healthy individuals from the same age group. Results. Among 44 patients with ulcerative skin lesions, 22 were diagnosed with a trophic ulcer, 12 patients with necrotizing ulcerative vasculitis, and 12 with chronic ulcerative pyoderma. In patients with ulcerative skin lesions, there was an increase in the level of procalcitonin by 1.3 times compared with the healthy control group (p>0.05). Serum procalcitonin levels were in a significant direct correlation with the skin level of S. aureus (r=+0.8) and in inverse correlations with skin levels of S. epidermidis (r=-0.9) and S. saprophyticus (r=-0.3). Conclusion. The results obtained indicate that procalcitonin has a significant relationship with opportunistic microorganisms, and even a slight increase in its level may indicate a local invasive process of an infiltrative-inflammatory nature, caused by the bacterial flora.