Pancreatic stone protein as a biomarker of sepsis

Abstract

Originally described in 1990 as a protein secreted by pancreatic acinar cells to inhibit growth and nucleation of calcium carbonate crystals in the pancreatic juice, subsequent preclinical studies have shown that PSP is actually a damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) produced as a response to sepsis. Overall, comparing to routine biomarkers, namely C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), PSP has shown to be more specific and sensitive on infection and sepsis diagnosis in different clinical settings (adults, pediatrics, post-operative, trauma, emergency and intensive care departments). [...]knowing that early recognition of sepsis is essential and a major determinant of the outcome, point-of-care testing as the one available for PSP is very appealing, as it provides results at bedside in less than 10 min.