December 2026. Volume 22. Number 4

Is salivary procalcitonin useful for ruling out serious bacterial infections in infants?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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AVC | Critically appraised articles

Çınarlı S, Yurtseven A, Turan C, Azarsız E, Köse T, Saz EU. A comparative evaluation of salivary and serum procalcitonin to identify infants with serious bacterial infections. Eur J Pediatr. 2026;185:92.

Reviewers: Gámez Belmonte A1, Pérez Solís D2.
1Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital de Antequera. Antequera. Málaga. España.
2Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital Universitario de Cabueñes. Gijón. Asturias. Gijón. España.
Correspondence: Ana Gámez Belmonte. Email: ana_gamez_@hotmail.com
Reception date: 15/10/2026
Acceptance date: 03/11/2026
Publication date: 12/11/2026

Abstract

Authors´ conclusions: salivary procalcitonin shows a strong correlation with serum procalcitonin and a high diagnostic accuracy as a non-invasive biomarker for identifying severe bacterial infection.

Reviewers´ commentary: the diagnostic accuracy of salivary procalcitonin seems good when it comes to ruling out severe bacterial infections in infants. However, the sample has few small infants and no newborns and there is a risk of inclusion bias. Also, the difficulty in obtaining the saliva and the availability of rapid tests must be considered to generalize its use.

How to cite this article

Gámez Belmonte A, Pérez Solís D. ¿Es útil la procalcitonina salival para descartar infecciones bacterianas graves en lactantes? Evid Pediatr. 2026;22:43.

AVC | Critically appraised articles

Çınarlı S, Yurtseven A, Turan C, Azarsız E, Köse T, Saz EU. A comparative evaluation of salivary and serum procalcitonin to identify infants with serious bacterial infections. Eur J Pediatr. 2026;185:92.

Reviewers: Gámez Belmonte A1, Pérez Solís D2.
1Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital de Antequera. Antequera. Málaga. España.
2Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital Universitario de Cabueñes. Gijón. Asturias. Gijón. España.
Correspondence: Ana Gámez Belmonte. Email: ana_gamez_@hotmail.com
Reception date: 15/10/2026
Acceptance date: 03/11/2026
Publication date: 12/11/2026

How to cite this article

Gámez Belmonte A, Pérez Solís D. ¿Es útil la procalcitonina salival para descartar infecciones bacterianas graves en lactantes? Evid Pediatr. 2026;22:43.

12/11/2026

Linked Comment

Methodological note