Procalcitonin as a predictive marker for surgical site infection in elective colorectal cancer surgery

Purpose Surgical site infection (SSI) is a frequent complication of elective surgery for colorectal cancer. The classical clinical markers of infection—elevations in white blood cell count, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and body temperature—do not precisely predict SSI after elective colorectal resection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of procalcitonin (PCT) as a tool for diagnosis of SSI in elective surgery for colorectal cancer.