Detection of PCT and urinary β -MG enhances the accuracy for localization diagnosing pediatric urinary tract infection.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to investigate whether the combination of urinary beta 2 microglobulin (urinary β -MG) and procalcitonin (PCT) diagnosis could enhance the localization diagnostic precision of pediatric urinary tract infection comparing with single diagnosis.

Methods: A study was conducted in the Nephrology Department of Wuhan women and children's health care centre. This study incorporated 85 participants, including 35 children who were diagnosed as upper urinary tract infection (UUTI) with the symptom of fever and 50 children who conducted lower urinary tract infection (LUTI). Levels of PCT and urinary β -MG in both UUTI and LUTI patients were measured and compared.

Results: The level of PCT and β -MG were both significantly higher in UUTI group compared with in LUTI group. AUC of urinary β -MG ROC (sensitivity of 71.4%, specificity of 90.0%) was significantly smaller than that of PCT ROC (sensitivity of 77.1%, specificity of 96.0%) in the single diagnosis. Although in the combined diagnosis, the sensitivity and specificity increased to 88.6% and 98%, respectively.

Conclusions: Both PCT and β -MG could be used to localize the UTI. Introducing urinary β -MG into PCT diagnosis could increase the sensitivity and specificity of UTI lesion diagnosis in clinical practice.