ICJEM
Intercontinental Journal of Emergency Medicine

The Intercontinental Journal of Emergency Medicine aims to publish issues related to all fields of emergency medicine and all specialties involved in the management of emergencies in the hospital and prehospital environment of the highest scientific and clinical value at an international level and accepts articles on these topics.

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Original Article
Diagnostic value of pentraxin-3 in community-acquired pneumonia patients presenting to the emergency department
Abstract
Aims: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most frequent causes of emergency department admissions and represents a major infectious disease requiring rapid diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of pentraxin-3 (PTX-3) in patients presenting to the emergency department with CAP and to investigate its association with conventional inflammatory biomarkers and the pneumonia severity score based on Confusion, Urea, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, and Age>=65 years (CURB-65).
Methods: This prospective, single-center study included 45 adult patients diagnosed with CAP and 42 healthy controls.. Demographic characteristics and laboratory parameters, including white blood cell count, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and PTX-3 levels, were recorded. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and correlations between PTX-3 and clinical parameters were analyzed.
Results: Median PTX-3 levels were significantly higher in the CAP group compared with controls (2.485 ng/mL vs. 0.981 ng/mL, p<0.001). ROC analysis demonstrated a high diagnostic performance of PTX-3 for distinguishing CAP patients from controls (AUC: 0.906; 95% CI: 0.846–0.965). An optimal cut-off value of 1.389 ng/mL yielded high sensitivity (93.33%) and acceptable specificity (73.17%). PTX-3 levels showed no significant correlation with CRP, PCT, white blood cell count, or CURB-65 score and did not differ significantly across CURB-65 severity groups.
Conclusion: PTX-3 appears to be a useful biomarker for identifying the presence of CAP rather than assessing disease severity or prognosis. Its high sensitivity suggests that PTX-3 may support early diagnosis and rapid clinical decision-making in time-critical emergency department settings.

Keywords : Community-acquired pneumonia, pentraxin-3, biomarkers, emergency department

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Article available in :
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2026
Page : 24-28
https://doi.org/10.51271/ICJEM-0073
Article Information
Received : 15 Oca 2026
Accepted : 17 Şub 2026
Published : 04 Haz 2026
Corresponding Author :

Emine Sarcan: Department of Emergency Medicine, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkiye

[email protected]
Citation : Kaya UB, Sarcan E, Kösem A. Diagnostic value of pentraxin-3 in community-acquired pneumonia patients presenting to the emergency department. Intercont J Emerg Med. 2026;4(2):24-28. doi:10.51271/ICJEM-0073

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