Abstract: OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of serum procalcitonin (PCT) on diagnosis of bacterial infections in patients with chronic kidney disease so as to provide scientific basis for improvement of effect on treatment of the chronic kidney disease patients with bacterial infections.METHODS A total of 2 104 patients with chronic kidney disease who were hospitalized for treatment were enrolled in the study and divided into the infection group with 116 cases and the non-infection group with 1988 cases according to the status of nosocomial bacterial infections.The serum PCT content was compared between the two groups of patients, the sensitivity and specificity of PCT in diagnosis of bacterial infections in the patients with chronic kidney disease were calculated, and the distribution of pathogens isolated from the patients in the infection group and the drug resistance of related pathogens were observed.RESULTS There was significant difference in the serum PCT content between the two groups of patients (P＜0.05), and there was significant difference in the serum PCT content among the patients in the infection group before and after the treatment (P＜0.05).When PCT no less than 0.4 ng/ml was set as the positive standard, the sensitivity was 80.2%(93/116), the specificity 97.6%(1941/1988), the positive predictive value 66.4%(93/140),the negative predictive value 98.8%(1941/1964).Totally 132 strains of pathogens were cultured from 116 patients with infection, of whom 100 had single infection, and 16 had mixed infections, including 93 (70.5%) strains of gram-negative bacteria and 39 (29.5%) strains of gram-positive bacteria.Among the gram-negative bacteria isolated from the patients with infections, the drug resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains to cefazolin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ciprofloxacin were more than 85.0%, while the drug resistance rates to imipenem and meropenem were less than 6.0%.The drug resistance rates of Escherichia coli strains to cefazolin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin were more than 70.0%, while the drug resistance rates to amikacin, imipenem, and meropenem were less than 13.0%.Among the gram-positive bacteria, the drug resistance rates of Staphylococcus aureus strains to penicillin, ticarcillin, amoxicillin, and ceftriaxone were more than 80.0%, while the drug resistance rates to benzyl ticarcillin and vancomycin were 0.The drug resistance rates of Staphylococcus epidermidis to penicillin, ticarcillin, amoxicillin, and ceftriaxone were more than 75.0%, while the drug resistance rate to vancomycin was 0.CONCLUSIONThe sensitivity and specificity of the serum PCT are relatively high in diagnosis of early bacterial infection in the patients with chronic kidney disease, and it has certain value in clinical diagnosis.The P.aeruginosa and E.coli strains are the predominant species of pathogens causing the infections in the patients with chronic kidney disease.It is necessary for the hospital to reasonably use antibiotics based on the result of drug susceptibility testing so as to improve the therapeutic effect and prognosis of the patients.