Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death in the intensive care unit (ICU). Many biomarkers for predicted prognosis have been suggested; among these, procalcitonin (PCT) is known to increase in cases of bacterial infection. However, there have been many debates regarding whether PCT is an appropriate prognostic marker for pneumonia. Therefore, we investigated whether PCT can serve as a biomarker for pneumonia, and compared it with CURB-65, which is a known tool for predicting the prognosis of pneumonia.

Levels of PCT and CURB-65 scores were compared between 30-day non-survival (n = 30) and survival (n = 101) patients. Relationships between PCT and CURB-65 were determined by using linear regression analysis, as well as by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and calculation of the area under the curve (AUC). High and low PCT groups were compared.

High PCT and high CURB-65 score were positively associated with 30-day mortality. For the prediction of 30-day mortality, initial PCT and CURB-65 exhibited AUCs of 0.63 and 0.66; these were not significantly different (P = 0.132). We found that the high PCT group had a higher rate of initial treatment failure (91%, P = 0.004).

Initial PCT can be a prognostic biomarker for mortality in severe pneumonia, similar to the CURB-65 score. Initial high PCT was positively associated with initial treatment failure.

To compare the mortality rate of children under ages five from different countries by their causes and to explore the cause of death that is relatively higher in South Korea and came up with measures for resolution.

The statistics were based from section ICD(International Classification of Diseases)-10 of WHO(World Health Organization) Mortality Database. Among the OECD(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, 15 countries with higher GDP(Gross Domestic Product) than South Korea were studied by the mortality rate from 2005 to 2010 sorted into two groups: 0 year group and 1-4 years group. Then the cause of death investigated in detail.

Among the 15 countries, average mortality of 0 year group in Korea ranked 8th and the average mortality of 1-4 years group ranked 4th out of 15. There were no significance in the mortality of 0 year group caused by any specific disease, but unnatural death was ranked 2nd after the United States. The natural death of 1-4 years group was ranked 6th, and the unnatural death was ranked 2nd after the Unites States. Among the natural deaths of 1-4 years group, the cause of death significantly higher was found to be disease G(nervous system disease). Among the subgroups of disease G, the orders went epilepsy, cerebral palsy, paralysis, and inflammatory disease.

We have identified major causes of death of children under age 5. The highest proportion of cause of death in 1-4 years group was nervous system disease and we have proposed resolution. Henceforth, this data will be used as a foundational data for formulating policies relation to the Mother-Child Health.